Walking Croatia

If you want to experience walking in the nature, the picturesque settlement of Lokve and its surroundings are an excellent choice for an walking weekend in Croatia.

Lokve are situated about thirty minutes drive from Rijeka and about an hour and a half from Zagreb, right in the heart of Gorski kotar - Croatia’s highlands.

The area around Lokve offers numerous natural attractions – Lake Lokve (Lokvarsko Jezero), the Golubinjak Woods park, the Lokvarka cave, located right next to it is the Risnjak National Park, while Lokve itself offers attractions adapted to an active vacation in the open.

There is something else, however, that makes Lokve special – their trademark is a frog, and it is no wonder that much of the Lokve tourist and gastronomic offer is based on this green amphibian.

A frog jumping competition is organised there in April, unique in the entire world. A frog museum has been opened in which visitors can get to know more about the entire life of these amphibians, try frog-shaped candies and the local Lokve liqueur called Frog’s Blood (Žablja krv) made of the blueberry, blackberry and raspberry that flourish in the area.

Blueberries are a summertime product of Lokve and are the base of a wealth of local cuisine – gnocchi with blueberries, wild boar steak in blueberry sauce and a ladyfinger jelly featuring these tasty berries. During other parts of the year the menu also includes dishes based on other seasonal foodstuffs – mushrooms, fresh trout, wild game etc.

Besides the natural beauties Lokve offers variety of accommodation for walkers and hikers in local houses and cottages all year around.

More info at Lokve Tourist Board web: www.tz-lokve.hr

admin :: Dec.04.2007 :: Walking Routes, Gorski Kotar :: No Comments »

A new tourism project was launched in Istra : The Parenzana - a route of Health and Friendship. 

Parenzana is an old railway track from the early 20th century that linked Trieste, Kopar and Porec, passing through much of the Istrian interior.

The railway has now been completely overgrown, but the route passing through wilderness, right next to many Istrian towns and old fortifications will take tourists on an adventurous trip to unusual places that offer experience of places and people, incomparable to the traditional form of tourist sightseeing of the usual destinations.

The Parenzana Code Kit is an exploratory and enigmatic guide book through which, step by step, parts of the fascinating mosaic of the past and present of Istra and the highlights of the Parenzana are revealed. It is a volume of maps with directions on how to orient along the Parenzana and information necessary to break the code. The maps are numbered and the basic assignment is to discover the proper order they are to be read in order to solve the Parenzana Code.

The code covers the area from Buje to Vižinada, and tourists can head out on foot or by bicycle to solve the enigmatic code, all with the help of the maps, and depending on the mode of transport one can solve the riddle in a day or more.

Along the 123 kilometre route they can get to know some of the most attractive places in Istra: Buje, Motovun, Grožnjan, Oprtalj, Završje and Kostanjice. The project will be further developed and the opening of a small Parenzana Museum in Livade is in the works, as are ethnological workshops and cycling races.

A DVD is being produced with 3D effects of the train passing, cycling maps as is other promotional material and the installation of information and road signs.

More info at the Parenzana Project web : www.parenzana.net  and at Istria Tourist Board:  www.istra.hr

admin :: Dec.03.2007 :: Walking Routes, Istria :: No Comments »

A tourist-educational trail called “In the Footsteps of the Miners of Tršce” was recently opened in the settlement of Tršce, a small tourist destination in Gorski Kotar, Croatia.

The trail is over 6 kilometres long, and walking along it tourists can learn all about the way the local miners used to live.

Tršce is a settlement in Gorski Kotar located some 15 km from the small town of Cabar. It is situated on a plateau, surrounded by dense forests and many fields, and with so peaceful and gentle a surroundings, it is a destination attracting many lovers of the great outdoors.

There are particularly many in winter when the entire area slumbers under a white winter blanket and the skiing season kicks off in the nearby hills. Stretching above Tršce is Mount Rudnik with two ski trails and ski tow.

Tršce has many athletic fields, a large sports hall and a large natural stadium for all kinds of running and recreation, which is of interest for the athletes who come here to train. With the many hunting grounds in the vicinity there is also well developed hunting tourism available here, and the destination is also interesting on account of the proximity of other attractive outdoor attractions such as the source of the Kupa River and Risnjak National Park.

More info at Cabar Tourist Board www.gorskikotar.hr/www.tz-cabar.hr/grad.htm

admin :: Nov.06.2007 :: Walking Routes, Gorski Kotar :: 1 Comment »