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Daily Travel Updates

Friday, 28 January 2022

PHOTOS: Snowy Riversides and Magical Mountains of Croatia in January 2022

January 28, 2022 – The snowy riversides and magical mountains of Croatia in January 2022 show a spectacular and all-natural winter wonderland.

Snow finally stuck to the streets of central Zagreb for a couple of days this week. Early morning temperatures dropped to the lowest yet of this winter. Despite the chill, clear skies and sunshine days were enough to see the snow soon melt away.

But, far from the city, the snowy riversides and magical mountains of Croatia in January 2022 have kept their white blanket for longer. These all-natural landscapes look epic after the snowfall. For winter walkers and climbers – or even just lovers of photography – these images are way more spectacular than the bright lights and theatre of the Advent season.

Let's take a closer look at the winter wonderland of snowy riversides and magical mountains of Croatia in January 2022.

Gorski Kotar

Delnice, Lokve, Fužine, Stara Sušica, Ravna Gora

From above, Dvorac Stara Sušica © Vladimir Franolić

Jezero Bajer near Fužine © Marino Kirinčić

Another view of Dvorac Stara Sušica © Branko Lautar & Višnja Bolf

Risnjak National Park and Snježnik Hrvatski

Snježnik hrvatski © Ivan Ćuća-Žentil

For more about Risnjak National Park, look here

Velebit

Northern Velebit National Park

For more about Northern Velebit National Park, look here

Velebit Nature Park

Ljubičko Brdo © Ivan Ćuća-Žentil

Paklenica National Park

Bojinac © Ivan Coric Photography

For more about Paklenica National Park, look here

Kloštar Podravski, Podravina and Koprivnica-Križevci County

For more about the Drava river in Koprivnica-Križevci County look here. For more about the area of Podravina containing Kloštar Podravski and Đurđevac, look here

Slavonski Brod

The wetlands and ponds in Oriovac near Slavonski Brod are not only home to fish - over 50 species of birds visit these waters © Antun Lukšić

For more about Slavonski Brod, look here

Žumberak-Samoborsko gorje Nature Park

The high peak of Sveti Gera, on the western edge of Žumberak-Samoborsko gorje Nature Park © Domagoj Novosel

The author would like to thank each of the photographers who kindly loaned their work to him for this article

Sunday, 20 June 2021

Gorski Kotar's Eco-system, Tourism Suffer Due to Climate Change

ZAGREB, 20 June, 2021 - Climate change has left a huge mark on the forests of the Gorski Kotar mountain region in central Croatia, causing its tourism value to drop, experts say.

Over the past decade, ice, wind and the bark beetle have destroyed large parts of Gorski Kotar, whose economy, including tourism, is based on natural resources.

Dragan Turk, a manager at Risnjak National Park, says that due to natural disasters the national park will lose its value as a protected area. "If climate change is too fast, it will take more than 100 years for forests to regenerate."

Last week, an international team of experts presented the findings of a study on the effects of climate change in Gorski Kotar, warning that it could affect local tourism.

The study was conducted by the Zagreb Faculty of Economics and Business in cooperation with Leeds Beckett University and Bocconi University in Milan. The Croatian Meteorological and Hydrological Service cooperated on the project.

In four years, ice, wind and the bark beetle have destroyed more than a million square metres of wood, which has greatly affected the eco-system, experts says.

Beekeeper Damir Zanoškar says the various corridors resulting from deforestation are probably the cause of the increasingly strong winds registered in recent years.

He says the Hrvatske Šume national forest management company should ask itself what the current model forest management is leading to. "Thousands and thousands of logs are being driven somewhere far."

Beekeepers have joined forces and launched a fir-planting drive because fir is well-adapted to Gorski Kotar and is very useful to bees. Zanoškar says big fir-planting campaigns could give Gorski Kotar its former aspect back in 20-30 years.

"Time is running out," he warns. "We need forests and we must take immediate action."

Experts say that although extreme weather occurred in the past as well, today it causes bigger problems and is not related to only one season. That's why climate projections should be taken into account when planning new projects and infrastructure, they add.

Climate change could affect the tourism industry, notably in southern Europe, experts say.

Warmer and drier summers can result in bigger droughts, wildfires and negative changes in plants and animals, which would make summer vacations in Mediterranean countries uncomfortable. At the same time, northern countries with more moderate summers could see a rise in tourist turnover, experts say.

If it adapts, tourism can expect positive results, otherwise the negative effects are inevitable, they add.

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