Renting a vehicle is a good option for exploring Croatia and we picked ours up in Zagreb. A little more than 100km south we came upon Rastoke, a historic town in the Croatian district of Slunj, which was to whet our appetite for the next day’s destination of Plitvice Lakes. I recommend that everyone who is physically able to visit Plitvice Lakes, but if you can’t, then consider Rastoke your own free sample.
Look behind this Rastoke waterfall and you will see more and more waterfalls. It would be fair to say water is everywhere in Rastoke and that means lots of trees – Burr, poplars, aspen, willow trees, lime trees and alders. These names are not familiar names to us in the north of Australia, although I do recognise the Poplars and Willows.
Spring in the north of Croatia is an overload of green.
The Slušnica (Slunjčica) and the Korana rivers meet here and traditionally mills were set up to use the abundance of water. Where the rivers join, a travertine rock face 500 meters wide and 200 meters formed creating 20 or more low waterfalls no higher than 20 metres and a series of rapids and pools. Otters live in crevices in the travertine so keep your eyes peeled.
The Slušnica river flows underground for 20km before reaching Rastoke. While it barely reaches a high of 16 degrees C, the Korana reaches 28 degrees C and the joining of the two covers parts of the town in fog. The cool waters are perfect for growing trout for which the Slušnica is famous. Local restaurants serve river trout as well as the local speciality of roasted Pork and Lamb, that can be seen cooking in roadside ovens from Istria to Plitvice and beyond.
In Croatian the word rastoke has dual meanings. One meaning is the branching of rivers and another is the rock known as Tufa or Travertine. The very nature of the travertine has created problems in the past. In 1914 the Korana undercut the rock face and in the middle of the night the town dropped. I can only imagine how terrifying that would have been.
Buk waterfall was purposefully damaged by explosives during the Croatian War 1991-5.
The Korana River connects Rastoke with Plitvice Lakes.
An attempt was made to destroy this bridge during the War but it was only minimally damaged and opened again within months. Unfortunately some of the century old houses were damaged and/or completely destroyed.
Stay.
The locals of Rastoke rent out their rooms. A search on Airbnb revealed quite a few.
Eat.
Petro Restaurant with views of the river, fresh trout from the river (via a tank on the deck).
Play.
Swimming, canoeing, rafting (summer only). Nearby Caves of Barać.
Parking.
Turn left off the road from Zagreb and park along the river. You can see the Blue Parking sign at the top of the map below. Although there are other parking areas this is the most convenient if driving from Zagreb.
Map.
Further Reading.
Rastoke was visited as part of our 10 Weeks in Europe 2015.
Every Thursday I link to Budget Travelers Sandbox for Nancie’s Travel Photo Thursday. You can add your link below and read stories from all over the world.
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waterfalls and more waterfalls – even coming from under houses! amazing. And so green! I am always surprised by the green of Europe, nothing like our dull green over here in Australia.
Happy travels and have a great week.
Jan, We loved using a rental car to go all over Croatia! I can’t wait to read your Plitvice post, one of my favorite places!
Lovely…
I think we went to this town for a swim after visiting Plitivice lakes, but while the photos look familiar, the name isn’t. I wonder if there’s another place similar nearby. Anyway, it’s lovely to see and read about it and thanks for bringing back great memories.
I found that Rastoke is sometimes called Slunj Phoebe, could that have been the name?
Wow! What a fabulous place. I can’t get over all those houses hanging over the waterfalls . . . guess I’ll have to plan a return trip to Croatia to visit here some day.
I definitely think that Rastoke is an underrated destination in Croatia Cindy. I would like to revisit Croatia too and visit more of their islands. 🙂
That is absolutely amazing! It’s sad when beautiful and historic places are ruined by wars but I’m glad that this place was able to keep their head above the ground even after the turmoil and keep this place as it is. As much as they can at least. IT’s beautiful!
What a pretty pretty place! So much greenery everywhere.I think I could see myself here exploring those rivers, streams and waterfalls.
Wooow, you’re not exaggerating when you say there is abundant greenery in springtime in this area. Just stunning with all the waterfalls, too. Definitely on our list – with a hire car! 🙂
Julia
There’s something about waterfalls that instantly captivates and calms me at the same time. I would love to visit this place and sit for hours looking for otters!
We were astounded by this town. Imagine sleeping in one of those houses with the water rushing past outside your window – and wondering if the town was ready to shift again during the night!
Wow! After a few DRY days downunder, seeing so much green in one place almost hurts my eyes! My sister visited this area on a very dull day – even so, the photos still make it look magnificent! Have a great week!
Wow! So many waterfalls! It looks lovely, and I bet the rafting is amazing!
Hi Jan. Those waterfalls are amazing. I love how green everything is too. I cannot imagine waking up one morning to discover that my house had dropped. That would be disturbing, to say the least.
Yes that would be disturbing lol.
Absolutely beautiful! Wow, those waterfalls look never ending. I can’t believe this is only a sampler of what’s to come. I have wanted to got to Croatia for a long time and this just ignites my wanderlust. How neat to be living in those houses.
Imagine the sound of rushing water that must just become normal after hearing it 24/7. 🙂
I’ve heard of famous Plitvice Lakes but not of Rastoke. The countryside there is so striking. I’d really love to stand there myself some day. And I think I might get just as excited by a wild otter sighting as seeing those fantastic falls.
I live in quite an arid area of Queensland Michele and I found all that green and water so captivating!