Mali Prštavac

Mali Prštavac is a named waterfall in Plitvice’s Upper Lakes, between Galovac and Gradinsko jezero. The park pairs it with nearby Veliki Prštavac on its walking routes, and the path passes close enough to catch spray from the falls. Keep it in your plan if you’re exploring the Upper Lakes; this is a waterfall stop on the route, not a roadside pullout.

The park’s E program is the shorter way to take in this area: 5.1 km and about two to three hours, with a boat crossing on Kozjak, an upstream walk through the Upper Lakes toward Prošćansko, and the sightseeing train back. Program C covers both lake areas over 8 km and about four to five hours. Both include the Prštavac falls. Visitors describe some hilly stretches and a long walk, so this isn’t a quick add-on from the car.

The path runs alongside the Great and Small Prštavci, where the falling water sends spray and mist onto the walk. Several streams spread over the rock wall into clear water. For a photo, keep a little of the pool in the foreground so the picture shows the cascades and where they land. This is a popular photo stop, and a line can form during busy visits; try to reach it early in your circuit if you want an unobstructed frame.

These falls belong to Plitvice’s active tufa system. Calcium carbonate in the water deposits to form natural barriers, with mosses, algae and bacteria helping the process. Water crosses those barriers while growth and erosion keep changing them, so the falls are part of a landscape that is still being built and reshaped.