Fodor's Expert Review Risnjak National Park
Risnjak is a popular destination year-round. In winter you'll find a healthy contingent of snow aficionados desperately trying to avoid a trip up to Austria to sample the real thing. In summer, however, as the sun and the tourists beat down upon the coast, this is perhaps the best place to be. The cool mountain air—the average temperature in the region in July is around 16°C (60°F)—is a bonus to Risnjak's virtually unpopulated landscape.
You'll be free to commune with the locals, which include deer, bear, wildcat, and lynx (ris), from which the park takes its name. Geologic and botanical features are occasionally explained by English-language information points over which you may stumble on one of the more popular walking routes. Marked trails can occupy you for an hour's evening stroll to a full seven-day trek on the monstrous Rijeka Mountain Transversal from one side of Gorski Kotar to the other. Hiking huts are strung across the peaks to accommodate such ambitious... READ MORE
Risnjak is a popular destination year-round. In winter you'll find a healthy contingent of snow aficionados desperately trying to avoid a trip up to Austria to sample the real thing. In summer, however, as the sun and the tourists beat down upon the coast, this is perhaps the best place to be. The cool mountain air—the average temperature in the region in July is around 16°C (60°F)—is a bonus to Risnjak's virtually unpopulated landscape.
You'll be free to commune with the locals, which include deer, bear, wildcat, and lynx (ris), from which the park takes its name. Geologic and botanical features are occasionally explained by English-language information points over which you may stumble on one of the more popular walking routes. Marked trails can occupy you for an hour's evening stroll to a full seven-day trek on the monstrous Rijeka Mountain Transversal from one side of Gorski Kotar to the other. Hiking huts are strung across the peaks to accommodate such ambitious expeditions. More information regarding these multiday hiking trips is available from the Croatian Mountaineering Association.
The park information office is in the village of Crni Lug, at the eastern entrance to the park. Near the park entrance is a guesthouse and restaurant, Pension NP Risnjak, open year-round. You can easily explore the gentler trails from either Rijeka or Delnice on day trips. Paths from the villages of Razloge and Kupari lead up to the source of the wild Kupa River, which can then be followed down the slopes through the "Valley of the Butterflies."
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