Bus from PLITVICE LAKES to SOKOBANJA

Plitvice Lakes National Park is one of the oldest national parks in Southeast Europe and the largest national park in Croatia. The national park is world-famous for its lakes arranged in cascades, and 16 lakes can be seen from the surface.

The national park was founded in 1949 and is situated in the mountainous karst area of central Croatia.

The Plitvice Lakes originate in the south of the park area at the confluence of Bijela Rijeka (English White River) and Crna Rijeka (English Black River). These rivers originate south of the municipality of Plitvički Ljeskovac and unite at one of the bridges in this village.

In 1979, Plitvice Lakes National Park was added to the UNESCO World Heritage register.

The protected area extends over 296.85 square kilometres (73,350 acres). About 90% of this area is part of Lika-Senj County, while the remaining 10% is part of Karlovac County. The lakes are separated into an upper and lower cluster formed by runoff from the mountains, descending from an altitude of 636 to 503 m (2,087 to 1,650 ft) over a distance of some eight km, aligned in a south-north direction. The lakes collectively cover an area of about two square kilometres (0.77 square miles), with the water exiting from the lowest lake forming the Korana River.

The name Plitvice was first mentioned in a written document in 1777 by Dominik Vukasović, the priest of Otočac. This name was designated due to natural phenomena that have created the lakes. Nature formed shallow basins (Croatian pličina or plitvak, plitko means shallow), which have been filled with water. For centuries, water has changed the limestone and thus the landscape of this area.

The overall water body area of the national park is about 2 km2 (0.77 sq mi). The two largest lakes, Prošćansko jezero and Kozjak, cover about 80 percent of the overall water body area. These lakes are also the deepest, with a depth of 37 and 47 metres (121 and 154 ft) respectively. On Lake Kozjak, low-noise and ecologically-friendly electric boats are being used. None of the other lakes in the park exceeds 25 metres (82 feet) in depth. The altitude drop from the first lake to the last is 133 metres (436 feet).

The 16 lakes that can be seen from the surface are grouped into the 12 Upper Lakes (Gornja jezera) and the four Lower Lakes (Donja jezera).

The Plitvice Lakes national park is heavily forested, mainly with beech, spruce, and fir trees, and features a mixture of Alpine and Mediterranean vegetation. It has a notably wide variety of plant communities, due to its range of microclimates, differing soils and varying levels of altitude.

Scientists have so far listed 1,267 different plants out of 109 species that can be found within the area of the national park. 75 plants are endemic, which means that they have first been defined and classified in this area of the world or not far from it.

For reasons of the poor industrial development of this region and early introduced protection measures, a nearly untouched landscape has been preserved. In the partially primeval beech and fir forests various rare species, such as the brown bear have survived. At the Plitvice Lakes, all species continue to exist that have already existed before the coming of man. This is a rare case worldwide.

Sokobanja is located in southeastern Serbia, at an altitude of 400 meters in the basin between the Rtanja Mountains (1560m) and Ozren (1174m).

Sokobanja (9000 inhabitants) is the economic, health, cultural and tourist center of the municipality that covers an area of ​​525 km2, in which 25 inhabited places live about 20,000 inhabitants.

The basic branch of the economy is tourism with agriculture and mining. Thanks to the good traffic connections in Sokobanja, it arrives asphalt, quickly and easily from every direction.

Since ancient times known as a tourist destination, Sokobanja has the basic elements for the formation of a diverse tourist offer: thermomineral waters, ideal altitude of 400m, favorable climate, unspoiled nature that surrounds, rich cultural heritage ....

Sokobanja to its visitors throughout the year and a variety of cultural and entertainment contents and events. The days spent in Sokobanja remain permanently in an unforgettable memory, so the tourists visit, revealing always new interesting details in it. Today Sokobanja is one of the most visited tourist destinations in Serbia.

Treatment in Sokobanja is carried out, based on the indicated indications, by bathing in warm, slightly radioactive water and inhalation, according to the instructions and under the supervision of a physician. Sokobanja air is itself a cure for asthma sufferers.

Thermal sources Sokobanja are among the most active in this part of Europe. In total, there are six major, whose water temperature ranges from 28-45 degrees Celsius. Since the outbreak of radioactive gases in the entire territory of Banja is large, each visitor is exposed to mild inhalation, which very usefully affects the respiratory organs and the whole organism.

The area of ​​Sokobanja is rich in valuable cultural and historical monuments, churches and monasteries: the medieval town of Sokograd, the remains of Vrmdanski grad, the Turkish Amam (XV century), the restaurant "Milošev konak", the building of the administration of the Principality of Serbia (XIX century) Church of the Mother of God in the center of Sokobanja, the Church of the Birth of the Virgin on Lepterija, the monastery Jermenčić (XIV century) at Ozren, the Church of the Dormition of the Virgin in Jošanica (XI century), the church of the Fire of Mary in Gradašnica, the church of St. Eli in Istoces (XIX century ), the memorial fountains of Prince Miloš Obrenović, Hajduk Veljko Petrović and Ljube Didić.

Hunting grounds in the Sokobanja area are the right place for the most interesting adventure! In accordance with the prescribed law and according to the hunting calendar for game in the protection regime, that is, the pricelist brought by the Board of the Hunting Association of Serbia, you can try hunting in these terrains: rabbit, field partridge, wild boar, forest snail, pheasant, wild duck , fox, pigeon mug, quail, thistle, gututku, then roe deer and deer. No less attractive is hunting game outside the protection regime: wolf, wild cat, cancer and foxes.