National Park Plitvice Lakes (Plitvicka Jezera) is located in a deep mysterious ancient forest known as the "Devil's Garden" halfway between Zagreb and Zadar. It is an enchanting world of cascading lakes, subterranean caverns and breathtaking waterfalls which is home to deer, bears, wolves, boars and rare bird species. The oldest national park in Europe, National Park Plitvice Lakes was granted UNESCO World Heritage status in 1979. Composed of 16 interconnected lakes, the climate at the national park is alpine yet the water temperature in summer can reach 24°C. Lakes are divided in two groups, the upper lakes and the lower lakes, spread over a total distance of 8 km. The National Park is open daily all year round, with longer opening hours during summer (usually 8am to 7pm). From November till the end of March Plitvice Lakes National Park is covered with snow freezing the lakes between December and January creating a magical winter wonderland. The closest airport to Plitvice Lakes is at Zagreb which is about 140km away. It takes about 2.5 hours by bus from Zagreb to get to Plitivice Lakes and 4 hours from Split.