Waterfalls in Croatia
There are several beautiful waterfalls in Croatia but isn’t the first country you think of if you want to visit a waterfall. Nevertheless in 2015 I went to Croatia for a holiday and I used my visit to explore some waterfalls. I was overwhelmed by the beauty of the country, its lovely weather and the waterfalls I visited were gorgeous.
Croatia (especially the region of Dalmatia) is rich of karst rivers coming down from the Dinaric Alps mountain ranges creating the most beautiful waterfalls of Croatia. Maybe it was my ignorance or lack of interest, but I didn’t knew that there are mountain peaks over 1.800 meters. The mountain Dinara is the highest in the region and is 1.831 meters high and is part of the Dalmatian hinterland.
Waterfalls of Croatia map
I have only listed 18 of the best waterfalls of Croatia on a Google map but there are certainly more small waterfalls to be found. The “waterfalls of Croatia map” is easy to use and there are links to all waterfalls of Croatia with more information. Just click on the bigger map icon to view the “waterfalls of Croatia map” fullscreen.
Best rated waterfalls in Croatia
| # | Rating | # | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skradinski buk – Krka waterfalls | Central Dalmatia | Sibenik/Lozovac/Skradin (Krka National Park) | 12+45 m | 12 | 4 | |
| Plitvice: Veliki Slap | Lika Slenj - Croatia Proper | Plitvička jezera (Nacionalni park Plitvička jezera) | 78 m | 78 | 3.5 | |
| Manojlovac slap | Dalmatia | Knin, Raducic, Ivoševci | 60 m | 60 | 3 | |
| Plitvice: Sastavci Slap | Lika Slenj - Croatia Proper | Plitvička jezera (Nacionalni park Plitvička jezera) | 25 m | 25 | 3 | |
| Rastoke-Slunj Slapovi | Lika Slenj - Croatia Proper | Slunj | 1+12 m | 1 | 3 | |
| Roški slap | Dalmatia | Drniš, Knin, Skradin (National park Krka) | 12 m | 12 | 3 | |
| Slap Gubavica | Dalmatia | Zadvarje-Split | 50 m | 50 | 3 | |
| Bilušića buk | Dalmatia | Šibenik-Knin/Bobodol (National park Krka) | 10+20 m | 10 | 2.5 | |
| Krčić Slap | Central Dalmatia | Kovačić-Knin | 22 m | 22 | 2.5 | |
| Krupe Slapovi | Dalmatia | Krupa - Obrovac | 0 | 2.5 | ||
| Miljacka slap | Dalmatia | Puljane (National park Krka) | 8+24 m | 8 | 2.5 | |
| Plitvice: Milanovacki Slap | Lika Slenj - Croatia Proper | Plitvička jezera (Nacionalni park Plitvička jezera) | 18 m | 18 | 2.5 | |
| Plitvice: Milke Trnine Slap | Lika Slenj - Croatia Proper | Plitvička jezera (Nacionalni park Plitvička jezera) | 6 m | 6 | 2.5 | |
| Plitvice: Veliki Prstavac | Lika Slenj - Croatia Proper | Plitvička jezera (Nacionalni park Plitvička jezera) | 28 m | 28 | 2.5 | |
| Visoki buk Zrmanja | Dalmatia | Bilišane/Golubi?-Obrovac | 9 m | 9 | 2.5 | |
| Brljana Slap | Dalmatia | Ivoševci - National park Krka | 16 m | 16 | 2 | |
| Rošnjak slap | Dalmatia | Puljane-Oklaj (National Park Krka) | 8 m | 8 | 2 | |
| Zrmanja slap | Dalmatia | Nadvoda-Obrovac | 7 m | 7 | 2 |
Dinara is located east of Knin where the origin of the river Krka is located. The river Krka is one of the main rivers in Croatia withe the most beautiful waterfalls of Croatia. My favorite waterfall lies in the river Krka and is named Skradinski Buk.
Most people prefer the waterfalls at the Plitvice lakes (part of the Unesco world heritage list) as their favorite but Skradinski Buk is an extraordinary waterfall with the nicest swimming pool of Europe.
The river Krka (Krka nacionalni park) is an amazing karst river with 8 main waterfalls: slap Krčić, Bilušića buk, slap Brljana, slap Manojlovac, Slap Rošnjak, Slap Miljacka, slap Roški and finally the most famous and most beautiful waterfall Skradinski Buk.
The highest waterfall in the river Krka is slap Krčić also called Topoljski slap. Under slap Krčić the river Krka finds it origin. Slap Krčić is with 22 meter the highest waterfall in Croatia. Unfortunately the waterfall runs dry in summertime.
Maybe the most famous waterfall in Croatia and maybe even of Europe are the waterfalls in Nacionalni park Plitvička jezera (national park of the Plitvice lakes). National Park Plitvička Jezera (Plitvice Lakes) is the largest national park of the country (295 km2) and is since 1949 on the Unesco list of world heritage. The park is known for their cascades and their tufa formations and travertines.
National Park Plitvička Jezera (Plitvice Lakes) consist out of 16 lakes connected to each other forming small or bigger cascades/waterfalls in between the lakes which are located on different altitudes. The sixteen lakes are separated into the upper and lower lakes.
The biggest waterfalls in the National Park Plitvička Jezera (Plitvice Lakes) is Veliki Slap with its 78 meters, located at the lower lakes and Galovački buk with its 25 meters (single drop) at the upper lakes. The number of waterfalls is hard to mention but it must be more the a few dozen.
The main rivers in National Park Plitvička Jezera (Plitvice Lakes) are the Korana, Kozkjak and the river Plitvica.
The river Korana is famous because of it length (134 kilometers), its many many rapids, cascades and waterfalls. An unknown part of the river Korana is the place where the river Korana joins the river Slunjcice. The village of Slunj is the home of a small but very picturesque canyon called Rastoke. A dozen of small waterfalls are coming down and the views are amazing. The highest waterfalls in Rastoke (also called Slapovi Slunjcice or Kanjon Korane) are 12 meters high.
Another interesting river is the river Zrmanja with several waterfalls. The river Zrmanja is only 69 kilometers long but has very beautiful parts. The best part with the most beautiful waterfalls are located near the part where the river Krupa joins the river Zrmanja. The nicest and highest waterfall in the river Zrmanja is Visoki buk with a single drop of appr 9 meters. Don’t let the height fool you, it is the beauty that counts!
Biggest waterfalls by volume in Croatia
I really don’t know which waterfall has the highest average flow rate in Croatia. The figures I found are only of the famous waterfalls. Skradinski Buk has an average flow rate of 55 m3/sec, quite respectable. In summertime the flow rate reduces to 18 m3/sec.
The average water flow in the rivers at the National Park Plitvička Jezera is only 2.14 m3/sec. A nice volume but not very impressive.
Probably Gubavica vodopad belongs to the more powerful waterfalls in Croatia. The average flow rate of the river Cetina lies somewhere near the 15 m3/sec. In summertime the flow rate reduces to 2-4 m3/sec.
- Skradinski Buk (and all waterfalls in the river Krka)
- Gubavica vodopad
Highest waterfalls in Croatia
The highest waterfall of Croatia lies in the National Park Plitvička Jezera and is called Veliki slap. The waterfall has a single drop of 78 meter and is very beautiful.
The second highest waterfall lies in the river Krka and is called Manojlovac slap. From a distance you can see the total drop of 60 meter.
The third highest waterfall is a nice but unknown waterfall near Zadvarje (Split): Gubavica vodopad. The total height is approximately 50 meter.
- Veliki slap (78 meter)
- Manojlovac slap (60 meter)
- Gubavica vodopad (50 meter)
Most beautiful waterfalls in Croatia
I know this is subject to a private opinion but most people will agree that my list consists of very beautiful waterfalls.