Croatia · Lika-Karlovac

Gavanovac

Directions

Gavanovac is one of the Lower Lakes of Plitvice, in Plitvice Lakes National Park in central Croatia, on the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Plitvice Lakes are a chain of tufa-barrier lakes arranged in cascades and joined by waterfalls, and they have been on the UNESCO World Heritage list since 1979.

How it formed

Gavanovac lies in the deep limestone canyon of the Lower Lakes, enclosed by high, steep cliffs. Water from Milanovac falls into it over the Milka Trnina waterfalls, and at its north-eastern end a tufa barrier sends it on over the Velike kaskade, the Great Cascades, into Kaluđerovac.

History

The lake is named after Gavan, a local man who, legend says, hid a treasure here that has never been found. The waterfalls above it bear the name of the opera singer Milka Trnina, who in 1898 gave the whole proceeds of a performance of Tannhäuser in Zagreb to the society for the protection of the Plitvice Lakes; the society used it to build viewpoints and bridges, and named the falls after her, the only ones in the park named after a famous person in their lifetime.

Visit

Swimming

No reliable information

Tips

A lower walkway crosses the lake beside the Great Cascades and continues to the other Lower Lakes, while an upper path has viewpoints over the whole canyon.

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.