Gavanovac

Gavanovac is one of the Lower Lakes in Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia, sitting near Rastovača. It's easy to walk past it on the way between the more famous Upper Lakes, but this stretch of the park narrows into a steep-walled canyon that catches even visitors who think they've already seen the best of Plitvice.

Where exactly is Gavanovac?

The lake sits at roughly 518 meters above sea level and belongs to the Lower Lakes group, alongside Milanovac, Kaluđerovac, and Novakovića Brod. It's the second-highest lake in that cluster. Water reaches it from Milanovac above, tumbling down as the Milke Trnine cascades before Gavanovac passes it on through tufa barriers — the so-called Big Cascades — into Kaluđerovac.

How big is it, really?

Gavanovac ranks among the smallest lakes in the entire Plitvice system: about 100 meters long and 65 meters wide, with a surface area under 0.8 hectares. What it lacks in width it makes up in depth, reaching down to 10 meters — and combined with the sheer cliffs pressing in on either side, it feels far more dramatic than its modest footprint suggests.

What will you actually see there?

The canyon holding Gavanovac formed in soft, permeable limestone and is boxed in by high, largely inaccessible rock walls. A walking path runs along the lake heading west, tracing the Big Cascades before linking up with routes to the rest of the lake chain. It's worth detouring onto the upper trail as well — it opens onto viewpoints looking straight down into the canyon, giving a much better sense of scale than you get from the water's edge. The tufa (travertine) barriers that regulate water flow between Plitvice's lakes, a defining feature of the whole park, are visible here up close.

Where does the name come from?

Gavanovac takes its name from a local legend about a man called Gavan, said to have searched the area around the lake for buried treasure. Tales of hidden riches and local characters recur throughout Plitvice folklore, and many of the individual lake names trace back to stories exactly like this one.

When is the best time to visit?

Plitvice Lakes National Park has something to offer year-round, but the water flow feeding Gavanovac — and the cascades around it — is at its most dramatic in spring and early summer, when water levels run high. Come autumn, the canyon picks up extra color from the deciduous trees on its slopes, and thinner crowds make it easier to linger on the upper trail and take in the view.

Frequently asked questions

Is Gavanovac a large lake? No — it's one of the smallest in the whole Plitvice system, about 100 meters long and 65 meters wide, though it reaches 10 meters deep.

Which lake group does Gavanovac belong to? The Lower Lakes, together with Milanovac, Kaluđerovac, and Novakovića Brod. It's the second-highest lake in that group.

Where does the water in Gavanovac come from? It flows down from Milanovac via the Milke Trnine cascades, then continues over tufa barriers into Kaluđerovac.

Where does the lake's name come from? From a local legend about a man named Gavan, who was said to have hunted for treasure in the area.