Plitvice, Croatia's stunning National Park - hotels for Fly-drive holidays - REDISCOVER THE WORLD

Plitvice National Park

The Plitvice National park is located approximately halfway between Zagreb and Zadar on the coast. The park is one of Croatia’s most scenic areas and gained Unesco world heritage status in 1979. The National park consists of 16 lakes linked by a series of spectacular waterfalls and surrounded with beautiful woodland. Plitvice National park is also home to a wide variety of woodland animals and rare bird species.

There are a number of wooden walkways which run alongside the lakes and waterfalls as well as a variety of hiking trails through the woodlands. Other activities are also available in the Plitvice area including canoeing, cycling and fishing.

The Park is open daily all year round, with longer opening hours during summer. There is an entrance fee, which acts as a contribution to the Park's upkeep and protection. In the summer the park is green and full of lush vegetation while in the winter the lakes and waterfalls freeze leaving spectacular ice sculptures.

Our Choice of Hotels:
Hotel Jezero (4*)	Hotel Bellevue (2*)	Hotel Grabovac (3*)

The Hotel Jezero is situated in the very heart of the Plitvice Lakes National Park, only 300m from the largest lake, Kozjak.	The Hotel Bellevue is a great value option for stays in the park itself. Breakfast is served in the hotel; other meals can be taken at other hotels and restaurants in the National Park.	The Grabovac Hotel is located approximately 12 km outside the northern entrance of the National Park.

Hotel Macola	Hotel Degenija

The Hotel Macola is in Korenica, just 10 km away from the National Park situated in a very picturesque valley surrounded by the slopes of the Plješevica and Mrsiniwith mountains.	Degenija Hotel and Restaurant are located in Selište Drežničko village, just 4 kms from the entrance to National Park. The Degenija is a new 3* hotel situated in the midst of idyllic scenery.

Traditional cuisine and restaurants

In the past the dwellers of this area were mostly cattle - breeders, farmers, millers, lumberjacks and woodworkers. Their way of life greatly determined their diet and cooking. The food was kept on the earth, in "rukace", the earthenware. Bread, the basic food, was made mostly of corn, and baked covered by ash and live coals in the hearth. Later "peke" or "pekve" (earthenware) were used, made by the local potters. Hard - boiled corn mush was also often prepared which were cooked from the cereals (oats, barley and millet), and seasoned with butter.

Milk, which was plentiful in this cattle breeding parts, was prepared in various ways: sour or sweet. "Kiselina" (sour milk) as well as cheese, butter, "basa" (soft cheese made of "skorupa") and cream were made on daily basis. In cheese making rennet was used, and butter was prepared in "stap", the special container. The dairy products were mostly used during summer, with fresh or cooked vegetables, and dry - cured meet (smoked ham, bacon, sausages). One of the main delicacies was roasted lamb.

Plitvice National Park - traditional cuisine

Since the woods were the part of the dweller's lives it was used as the source of food. People went game hunting often (dormice were a delicacy) and they gathered wild berries. Mushrooms were collected in the woods, too: morels, beech - sticks, field mushrooms. It is quite surprising that, even though the lakes were nearby, the dwellers rarely went fishing. they mostly caught trout in the brooks of Plitvica, Sartuk and Jasenica.

Even today, a part of that old feeling is at the disposal of visitors through the rich gastronomical offering of Plitvice Lakes National Park. Visitors can acquire some of the more traditional food of the area and be indulged by specialties and the ambiance of the Licka house restaurant. Within the complex of the Park there are two more restaurants - Borje and Poljana, accompanied by many smaller establishments offering refreshments to weary travellers.

National Restaurant "Lička kuća"

Restaurant "Lička kuća" was built in 1972 in a traditional style typical for the Lika county and with the idea of offering exclusively traditional regional dishes. The restaurant underwent a complete refurbishment in 2003 and now consists of two floors with a total capacity of 270 seats in the main hall and 32 seats on the terrace. The first floor is divided into different sections, each representing different villages from Lika region, filled with the typical folk items that belonged to our ancestors. In the centre of the ground floor there is an open wood-burning stove for spit-roasted lamb and different authentic dishes such as veal and potatoes baked under a clay bell.

Guests are offered outstanding local dishes, made with exclusively homemade products and following traditional recipes. "Pršut" (smoked ham), "basa" (a dip like dish, made of fermented milk), "lička juha" (lamb soup with vegetables), different kinds of meat and potatoes baked under a clay bell, grilled meats, "police" (baked potato halves) trout from the local rivers, and deserts such as doughnuts, apple, plum or cheese strudel are just some of the delicacies offered at this excellent restaurant. Location: opposite Entrance 1.

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