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Galovac

Photo: Minestrone · Public domain

Croatia · Lika-Karlovac

Galovac

Directions

Jezero Galovac

Part of Plitvice Lakes

Galovac is one of the twelve Upper Lakes of Plitvice and one of the largest of them, a deep, dark-green lake below the Stubica hills, fed by Batinovac, Vir and Malo jezero. Its outflow is one of the great sights of the park: a wide tufa barrier over which the Prštavci and the Galovački buk fall into Milino and Gradinsko jezero.

How it formed

The Plitvice lakes are held back by barriers of tufa, porous rock laid down by mosses and algae as the water flows over them, so the lakes and the waterfalls between them keep growing and changing. The twelve Upper Lakes lie on impermeable dolomite, which gives them wider, gentler shores than the Lower Lakes in their limestone canyon.

History

The name is said to come from the surname Gal or Galović. Near the barrier on Galovac stands a memorial plaque to Ivo Pevalek, the botanist who studied the plants that build Plitvice’s tufa, called for the lakes’ protection as early as 1920 and did much to have the national park declared.

Nature

Larch trees line the shores and, with the depth, give the water its deep green colour, while dolomite crags and low deciduous woods rise on the northern side. In spring and autumn the colours of the forest are mirrored in the lake.

Visit

Warning:

Swimming is prohibited.

Swimming

Prohibited

Fishing

Prohibited

Boating

Prohibited

Camping

Prohibited

Tips

The walkways around Galovac pass right beside the Prštavci and the Galovački buk, and a path climbs to the Tomićev pogled viewpoint above the lakes. For the widest view, hike up to Tupi Medveđak, a peak from which Prošćansko, Ciginovac, Okrugljak, Galovac, Gradinsko and Kozjak are all in sight; trail no. 1 starts at the Hladovina car park at Entrance 2 and takes about two and a half hours.

The lakes lie in Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia’s first, proclaimed in 1949 and on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1979. Swimming is strictly prohibited, as are feeding animals, picking plants and leaving the marked paths and boardwalks. Spring and autumn, when the forests change colour, are the loveliest and quieter seasons.

Places & trails

1 place · 1 trail
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Sources & data

  1. Hrvatska enciklopedija: Plitvička jezera, Leksikografski zavod Miroslav Krleža
  2. Pravilnik o zaštiti i očuvanju Nacionalnog parka »Plitvička jezera« (NN 80/2021), Ministarstvo gospodarstva i održivog razvoja (Narodne novine), 2021
  3. Wikidata: Galovac (lake) (Q7210399), Wikimedia Foundation
  4. General information, Plitvice Lakes National Park
  5. Memorial plaque to Ivo Pevalek (2023), Plitvice Lakes National Park
  6. Hiking, Plitvice Lakes National Park
  7. Galovac Lake (Jezero Galovac), Plitvice-Lakes.info

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