Gorski Kotar: Nature Intact

NATURE INTACT

Natural Wonders of Gorski Kotar

Gorski kotar is frequently referred to as a "fairy-tale place". This is due to its amazing caves, hills, lakes, forests and springs which instantly take visitors to a fairy-tale by Ivana Brlić-Mažuranić (a famous Croatian children fairy-tale writer). It is not far away from the truth, though. Almost every natural beauty in this region is linked to a folk tale which our ancestors invented to explain its mystical creation. Jagodina stijena was named after a young girl called Jagoda who jumped off a cliff because of her sad love story and by falling down, she stopped the flowing of the Jezerka river.

Folklore and Legends of Gorski Kotar

The cave called Mužekova hižica was told to be inhabited by "small husbands" (mužek= a cute name for a husband, a hubbie in Croatian) who left the cave only to inform the local people it was time

for sowing. However, there are creepier stories than these.

At Lokve they used to believe there was Vodenjak (a scary fantasy creature) who frightened young children, in order to keep them away from Lokvarska lakes. Golubinjak forest park was allegedly inhabited by a 14-metre tall giant called Polnoćnjak, who used to take away kids in the evening hours unless they had gone home in time. There were legends referring to life after death as well. People used to believe that in the Lokvarka and other tiny rivers there were small creatures called "little lights" who sailed the river whenever somebody died, but would disappear after the mass for the deceased had been held. The characters from these folk tales were all imaginary, but the sites where the tales took place are real. And as extraordinary as in the legends, as we discovered ourselves.

Our story starts at 1035 metres above sea level at Petehovac mountaineering center. The center was built in 1939 by the people from Delnice who carried the building material on their backs. Nowadays, Petehovac is a popular mountaineering and sledging destination, including a restaurant famous for its stew and home-made gnocchi.

Vacation Destinations in Gorski Kotar

The drive to our next destination reveals the contents of Gorski kotar. There are cycling tracks and hiking routes called "Delnice Bike and Hike" where all the travellers may follow their journey via GPS. The main attractions are park forest Japlenški vrh and delicious "wild burgers" made from boars, a safari involving big beasts which is organized by Risnjak national park, followed by fishing and rafting on the Kupa river.

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The next destination is Zeleni vir, but Jelena (our guide) is taking us on a bit longer route, alongside the Curak river where we first realized why Gorski kotar is such a fairy-tale place for holidays. Namely, it reminded us of Rivendell, an ancient forest from The Lord of the Rings, inhabited by elves. Ahead of us there is a path covered with brown leaves and it is the only part that was obviously shaped by a human hand or shall we say, a foot. The rest is pure nature, involving all the senses. Sounds, first of all, birds tweeting, a creek gurgling and pebbles stirring under our feet. Then the smell of wild garlic and wild hazel, which can be seen alongside all the way, and in the end, a view dominated completely by green colour. The trees, around the path, on the river, anywhere. Only the sky fights the domination of this green paradise. Zeleni vir is a home to a great number of sites and attractions, including a small restaurant whose specialty is raspberry štrukle (a typical continental Croatian dish made of savoury dough). The picnic area is the junction of many paths, each of them offering a nature jewel at its end.

Nature's Power and Wild Beauty

It's time to go back to the picnic area and take the right turn towards Vražji prolaz, a place which has been popularly referred to as a "picnic area for the bravest hikers" ever since 19th century. Right at the entrance you can hear the gurgling sounds of Jasle

creek which has been wearing down stones for thousands of years to form a passage which astonishes us with the power of its water flow and the wildness of its cliffs. It was arched by little bridges and steps built into the rocks by metal beams, gradually leading more towards inland. The further you go, the more you get the feeling of nature ruling here like a sovereign monarch.

The path is leading us to Gorski raj, the only part of this artificial lake formed when the Lokvarka river was stopped by youth public works from 1952 to 1955. The lake flooded what used to be a green valley with a village and three sawmills and a few kilometres of Lujzijana road, and when the lake is nowadays dried for maintenance, you can still see the remnants of the flooded village. This is a swimming and rafting area, with a hiking path around the lake which is 11 kilometres long. The day is slowly coming to its end, but new destinations await - tomorrow we're visiting Golubinjak, Lokvarka cave and Vrelo, Kotač -the Nature House on Lujzijana road-all of the reasons to dive once again in the fairy-tale called Gorski kotar.