 Kuterevo is a small village in Lika region and a home for several bear cubs. These cubs have lost their mothers to speeding cars along the motorway running through this area or to poaching and were orphaned when they were still too young to survive on their own. Thanks to the enthusiasm of several regional nature-lovers and with great help from experts, a bear shelter was established in Kuterevo a few years ago and this project still remains unique in the world.
Bear cubs raised and cared for by people don’t develop the skills necessary to survive in the wild, so for now the bears remain in the shelter. However, several different “training grounds” have been built for the youngsters where they can learn various skills they are required to know in order to someday be able to go back to the wild. The shelter personnel leave meals hidden under tree trunks, rocks or piles of leaves so the cubs have to find them on their own and in doing so further develop their nature-given skills and grow up to be strong and healthy animals.
Kuterevo shelter can be reached easily from either Senj or Otočac. It is a wonderful place to visit and sneak a peak at the bear cubs and enjoy beautiful scenery of the Velebit mountain range. The shelter is open for visitors throughout the whole year – keep in mind that the bears hibernate from Novemeber to early spring so you won’t get to see them at that time. However, you will get to enjoy the true Velebit winter with heaps of snow!
 Medvednica (Sljeme) is also often called Zagrebačka gora (Zagreb mountain). The name of the highest peak - Sljeme - was used for the first time at the end of the 18th century and it is a croatian word for «summit». It is indeed rare for a European metropolis to have a nature park in its vicinity, but here it is, in the Croatian capital. The foot of the mountain can easily be reached by tram or by bus from various parts of Zagreb. From there upward you can use marked mountaineering tracks. The special tour is the cable car ride to the very peak of Sljeme. The average annual temperature is around 7ºC (Zagreb 12ºC). There is snow cover approximately for 100 days in a year, the thickest being in February. The skiing slopes are also covered with artificial snow when necessary. There is much more sunshine during the winter on Medvednica than in Zagreb or Zagorje, so it is not surprising that winter is the busiest season Medvednica mountain. In 2005, Sljeme was hosted the FIS World Cup race. Zagreb owes the honor of holding this event race to the Croatian ski queen Janica Kostelic, who brought ski elite in Zagreb.
 Golden horn (Zlatni rat) is probably the most famous beach in Croatia. Situated at the south eastern edge of the Croatian island Brač, near Bol, this beach became, throughout the years, the favourite spot for tourists both Croatian and foreign; the gravel promontory of the beach shifts from side to side as the wind and waves constantly change its shape. It can be reached by car, by little tourist train from nearby Bol or or by taking the ferry boat which travels form local harbour to the adequate spot on the beach. Because of the winds, Bol is famous for windsurfing and every year numeourous windsurfing competitions are held there.Interesting note: the white stone of Brač has been used in many famous buildings, including the White House in Washington, DC.
 Trakošćan is one of the most beautiful Croatian medieval castles and one of the most preserved cultural and historical monuments. The castle grounds feature a forest park and lake with a trail around it, while the castle itself has been turned into a museum complete with restored furniture and artwork of the era when it served as residence to the Drašković nobles. The castle is situated on a hill top, surrounded by forests and meadows, small vineyards and hills. It was built in the second half of the 13th century; at the beginning of the 19th century, count Drašković restored it and took residence there. Today it still features the original knights’ hall and hunters’ hall, a music salon, art atelier of the painter Julijana Erdöedy, and a collection of weapons from 15th – 19th century. It provides grounds for biking and climbing, parachuting and many other forms of recreation.
 Hum rises on a hill above the fertile and gentle valley of the Mirna river. Tourists are very much interested in it because Hum is considered the smallest town in the world. Close to the town gate is the famous Istrian "konoba" (wine cellar and restaurant), frequented by numerous gourmands who appreciate traditional Istrian cuisine. Hum is the end point of the Glagolitic Monks' Lane, a memorial complex consisting of eleven monuments, which stretches along the 7-km long road leading from Roc to Hum. It was erected by the Chakavian Diet in 1977 to commemorate the Croatian Glagolitics, who were of merit for the revival of national consciousness in Istria.
 Krapina is situated in Zagorje region, north of Zagreb.In the year 1899, the fossil remnants of the Homo sapiens neanderthalensis species were found at the excavation site located at the Hušnjak hill in Krapina. The excavations lasted for six years, supervised by Professor Dragutin Gorjanović-Kramberger, a famous Croatian geologyst, paleonthologyst and paleoanthropologyst. His works contributed significantly to the European and world science about the fossil man. The half-cave in Krapina was soon listed among the world's science localities as a rich fossil finding site, where the largest and richest collection of the Neanderthal man had ever bin found. In the deposits, which were over eight meters thick, a lot of human fossilised bones were found, as well as numerous remains of other now extinet-out pleistocen animals (Ursus spelaeus, Rhinoceros mercki, Bos primigenius, Alces alces, Megaceros giganteus and many others.)
 The Blue Cave (Modra spilja) is located on Biševo, a small island southwest from Vis.The Blue Cave is a true gem of the Adriatic. Around noon, when the sea is calm, sunbeams that penetrate through the submarine opening in the Blue Cave, reflect from the white bottom floor and colour the cave in blue and objects in the water in silver. The perfect calm of the blue colored cave never ceases to amaze the visitors of this natural wonder. The cave is accessible since 1884, and approach is possible only by boat. The island of Bisevo is famous excursion site: one-day excursions are organised from Komiza and Vis, but also from other islands in vicinity. |
