Švica Waterfalls & Lake

Just south of Otočac lies the tiny village of Švica and its own miniature Plitvice — a chain of thirteen small travertine waterfalls that step the Gacka river down 40 m into a bright turquoise lake before it plunges into the Švica sinkhole and disappears underground. Before 1959 the entire flow of the Gacka disappeared here and re-emerged 12 km away in Kosinj; the construction of the Sklope hydroelectric dam diverted most of the river through a tunnel but the springs still feed a smaller cascade, especially spectacular in spring snowmelt. A well-marked 40-minute loop trail from the village car park leads to viewpoints over both the upper waterfalls and the lake below, with wooden bridges and boardwalks. Bring a swimsuit for July and August — the lower lake has a small shaded swimming spot popular with local children, water temperature a fresh 12 °C. Nearby, the tiny 17th-century water mills at Majerovo vrelo still turn on the Gacka's springs; several have been restored as ethnographic exhibits. Combine with lunch at nearby Vila Velebita in Kosinj for smoked Gacka trout — considered by many the finest freshwater fish in Croatia.