Pliva Lake

The Pliva Lakes – Veliko (Great) and Malo (Small) Pliva Lake – are among the most beautiful and largest natural lakes in Bosnia and Herzegovina, set in the valley of the Pliva River just five kilometres from the royal town of Jajce. The Great Lake is about 3.3 kilometres long, up to 700 metres wide and as much as 36 metres deep, while its emerald-green water reaches a pleasant 21 °C in summer and is good for swimming.

Because of its density and exceptional stillness the water is regarded as "heavy" and is ideal for kayaking, canoeing and rowing – in 1963 it hosted the Seventh European and an extraordinary World Championship in flatwater disciplines. The special charm comes from a complex of twenty wooden watermills (mlinčići) on a tufa barrier between the two lakes, a unique ethnographic landmark. The lakes are also home to the rare lake trout, the zlatovčica.