page_title: Tourism in Croatia
section_title: Kvarner and Highlands
hierarchical_section_title: Tourism in Croatia / Tourist regions / Kvarner and Highlands
caption_attribution_description: English: Euroazijski ris (Lynx lynx) u zagrebačkome zoološkom vrtu.
context_page_description: Tourism is a major industry in Croatia. In 2018, Croatia had 19.7 million tourist visitors who made 110.275 million overnight stays. The history of tourism in Croatia dates back to the middle of the 19th century in the period around 1850. It has been developing successfully ever since. Today, Croatia is one of the most visited tourist destinations in the Mediterranean.
  Tourism in Croatia is concentrated in the areas along the Adriatic coast and is strongly seasonal, peaking in July and August.
  Eight areas in the country have been designated national parks, and the landscape in these areas is afforded extra protection from development. Currently, there are ten sites in Croatia inscribed on the UNESCO List of World Heritage Sites and 15 sites on the tentative list.
  Lonely Planet named Croatia as the top pick destination for 2005, while National Geographic Adventure Magazine named Croatia as Destination of the Year in 2006.
context_section_description: One of the most varying regions, the entire Kvarner gulf provides striking scenery, with tall mountains overlooking large islands in the sea. Opatija is the oldest tourist resort in Croatia, its tradition of tourism ranging from the 19th century.
  The former Venetian island towns of Rab and Lošinj are popular tourist destinations. The island of Rab is rich in cultural heritage and cultural-historical monuments. Rab is also known as a pioneer of naturism after the visit of King Edward VIII and Mrs Wallis Simpson. The island offers nature, beaches, heritage, and events such as the Rab arbalest tournament and the Rab Medieval festival – Rapska Fjera. With around 2600 hours of sunshine a year, the island of Lošinj is a tourist destination for Slovenians, Italians, and Germans in the summer months.  Average air humidity is 70%, and the average summer temperature is 24 °C (75 °F) and 7 °C (45 °F) during the winter.
  The interior regions Gorski kotar, Velebit and Lika have mountain peaks, forests and fields, many animal species including bears, and the national parks of Risnjak and Plitvice Lakes. The Plitvice Lakes National Park lies in the Plitvice plateau which is surrounded by three mountains part of the Dinaric Alps: Plješevica mountain (Gornja Plješevica peak 1,640 m), Mala Kapela mountain (Seliški Vrh peak at 1,280 m), and Medveđak (884 m). The national Park is underlain by karstic rock, mainly dolomite and limestone with associated lakes and caves, this has given rise to the most distinctive feature of its lakes. The lakes are separated by natural dams of travertine, which is deposited by the action of moss, algae, and bacteria. The encrusted plants and bacteria accumulate on top of each other, forming travertine barriers which grow at the rate of about 1 cm per year. The sixteen lakes are separated into an upper and lower cluster formed by runoff from the mountains, descending from an altitude of 636 to 503 m (2,087 to 1,650 ft) over a distance of some eight km, aligned in a south-north direction.
  The lakes collectively cover an area of about two square kilometers, with the water exiting from the lowest lake to form the Korana River. The lakes are divided into the 12 Upper Lakes (Gornja jezera) and the four Lower Lakes (Donja jezera): Under the travertine waterfalls Cratoneuron moss sometimes grows, the moss gets encrusted with travertine and fresh moss grows further out, first a crag is formed but later a cave roof forms under the crag. If the water continues flowing the cave becomes progressively bigger. Limestone caves are present as well. The area is also home to an extremely wide variety of animal and bird species. Rare fauna such as the European brown bear, wolf, eagle, owl, lynx, wild cat, and capercaillie can be found there, along with many more common species. At least 126 species of birds have been recorded there, of which 70 have been recorded as breeding.
caption: The Eurasian lynx can be found in the highlands.
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