If you decide to explore around the "Green Heart of Croatia", as people sometimes call Gorski Kotar, you'll probably do yourself a favour if you opt for a local guide. And one of those, Jelena Holenko Pirc will be happy to introduce you to the region through the most amazing stories and give you a different perspective. (Srđan Brajković writes for dnevnik.hr)
Her business is called Lynx and Fox and you'll be able to hear the origin story behind the name when you come to Gorski Kotar and Jelena's tour. Jelena is from Delnice, still lives there and she says that her core business is designing tours and being a tourist guide, and that she enjoys that immensly. While Gorski kotar is a well-known name in Croatia, Jelena thinks that it's not promoted and developed as much as it deserves. It's a location with extraordinary natural beauty and a huge potential for tourism. She says that she's currently the only tourist guide working exclusively in the Gorski Kotar area, since everyone enjoys having a local guide to get as close as possible to a authentic experience. And she still enjoys researching new ideas, routes and places to show people who want to get to know Gorski Kotar. Jelena says that she has lived a part of her life abroad, and that it brought her a lot of good, first of all, a better understanding of how amazing her life in Delnice really is. She enjoys all the time she gets to spend outside, in the fresh air, and the cities, Zagreb and Rijeka are a short drive away on the highway.
The tours she usually takes her customers on are varied and are often tailor-made for a specific group. She works with families, groups, school trips, groups of retired people of business-people at their team building trips. Some of the popular places in Gorski Kotar include Zeleni Vir, Vrajži Prolaz, Golubinjak, Kupa spring, Petehovac, caves... But her favourite tours include nature combined with some other activities, such as tasting of the local products or a lunch at a local restaurant.
You can find Jelena at www.lynxandfox.com and on Facebook.
