Lake Milanovac

Milanovac is the smallest of the Lower Lakes but arguably the most photogenic — a slender bright-turquoise pool set immediately below Lake Gavanovac and framed by pale travertine curtains dropping in feathery waterfalls. The Lower Lakes trail passes right along its western edge on the classic wooden boardwalks that put Plitvice on every travel wishlist, and the platform above its head-of-lake waterfall is the postcard shot with Gavanovac shimmering behind. The lake was reportedly renamed in the late 19th century after a landowner called Mile Krajačić — locally 'Milan' — who financed early path-building here; the name has stuck for over a century. Its exceptional colour comes from suspended calcium carbonate crystals and thick mats of chara algae reflecting light differently at different times of day: come at midday for the brightest cyan, and again at first light for a soft aquamarine. From Milanovac it's a fifteen-minute walk further downstream to the truly spectacular Sastavci cascade where all sixteen lakes finally spill into the Korana canyon. Boardwalks are single-file so travel counter-clockwise (start from P3, end at ST1) to avoid the worst crush of tour groups.