The Risnjak National Park is located in Gorski kotar, the most wooded part of western Croatia.  The Park covers an area of 63,5 km2 including the central part of the Risnjak and Snježnik massif, as well as the upper flow of the river Kupa with its source area.

The area of the Risnjak massif was proclaimed a national park on September 15, 1953, at the suggestion of an eminent Croatian natural scientist and researcher of Risnjak, prof. dr. Ivo Horvat. Early in 1997, the NP "Risnjak" was extended to the area of the Snježnik massif and the source area of the river Kupa, thus fulfilling the wish of prof. dr. Ivo Horvat to protect and enhance this area. The area of the NP "Risnjak" belongs to the Dinaric mountain system which stretches from the eastern Alps to the Sar-Pindos Mountains.

The Northern Velebit National Park was proclaimed a national park on June 9, 1999 due to its richness of natural phenomena, outstanding biodiversity and its beautiful nature on a relatively small area.

The Park covers an area of 109 km², and inside there is the Hajducki & Rozanski Ledges Strict Reserve, famous for its geomorphological phenomena - the pits. Up to now, more than 150 pits have been discovered, out of which the most famous is Luke's pit, discovered in 1992.

Within the park, you can find a number of botanical garden. The Visibaba botanical reserve which is rich of the endemic Croatian Sibirrhaea (Sibiraea altaiensis ssp. croatica), the Zavižan-Balinovac-Velika kosa botanical reserve, famous for its outstanding collection of species of the mountain flora, and the widely known Velebit Botany Garden, founded in 1967.

Plitvice is Croatia’s most well known national park. It became Croatia’s first national park on April 8, 1949. Thirty years later, it was added to UNESCO’s World Heritage list.

Plitvice Lakes is a group of sixteen small lakes gradually lined up and connected with numerous large and smaller waterfalls. The Plitvice Lakes are divided into the Upper Lakes and the Lower Lakes. The Upper Lakes are located in the area from Proscansko Lake up to the Kozjak, and the Lower Lakes in a limestone canyon which continues further under Sastavci as the River Korana canyon flow - 134 km long before reaching the mouth. The length of the Plitvice Lakes (according to the longitudinal cross - section presented by Eng. M. Petrik in 1952) is 8200 meters, and if we add to it Liman draga at Proscansko, Susanjska draga at Kozjak and the furthest point at Ciganovac lake – then that makes the longitudinal line going through all the lakes at 9050 meters.

The national park is covered by a dense forest. There are numerous caves, cavities, abysses and ice pits within the Plitvice Lakes National Park. So far, we are familiar with more than fifty such phenomena, but only a small number of them are accessible and interesting as a tourist attraction.

The wildlife and animal species that could be found at the park include: wolf, fox, hare, skunk, weasel, otter, lynx, wild cat, wild boar, deer, and brown bear.

For more information, check the official Plitvice Lakes website

Paklenica National Park stretches on the littoral slope of South Velebit directly above the settlement of Marasovići, up to the zone of the highest mountain peaks (Vaganski vrh, Babin vrh, Sveto brdo).

It covers the area of torrent flows of Velika Paklenica and Mala Paklenica, and their distinctive canyons carved vertically into the south slopes of Velebit and the broader surrounding area. The relatively small area has an abundance of geomorphological phenomena and forms, diverse flora and fauna, attractive landscapes and intact nature.  Paklenica was proclaimed a national park on October 19, 1949.

The most attractive and most valuable parts of South Velebit are surely the impressive canyons of Velika Paklenica and Mala Paklenica.