Dina Begić, Head of Office, Karlovac County Tourist Board
Five Stars Croatia Issue 5 — April 01, 2010.

On the way to the seaside, “rivers of tourists” pass through the Karlovac County every year, without realizing what they could see and experience if they only decided to take a little detour off the motorway. Located in the heart of Croatia, our county connects the northern and southern region of the country, uniting different reliefs – from the valleys of the north to the mountain tops of the south.

The cultural and historical heritage is intertwined withnumerous rivers, waterfalls and interesting river banks.

The Karlovac County is known for having the most of tourist arrivals and overnight stays than all other continental Croatian counties, not counting the city of Zagreb and the Zagreb County. 60% of these take place in the Rakovica Municipality, in close proximity to the magical Plitvice Lakes. Two out of seven hotels are four-star hotels, and most of the accommodation capacities are in the camps or in private accommodation facilities.

Four rivers that flow through our county are the basis for our tourist offer, which builds on all the various features offered by the rivers throughout all four seasons.
Besides the rivers, our forests are another invaluable natural treasure, offer hunting of various game species and the increasingly popular photo hunting. On the account of the well-preserved nature and low population density, there is a great potential for the development of adventure tourism.

Thanks to the many cave systems and sink-holeswe have excellent conditions for the development of speleological tourism. Two caves are open for visitors: Baraćeve and Vrlovka.
According to the recently adopted Strategic Marketing Plan, commissioned by the Croatian Tourist Board, the Karlovac County should also brand itself as a destination for an active vacation.

Therefore, we strive to follow trends on the market as well as form our offers and direct our activities in accordance with these recommendations.

In 2008, we completed an active vacation brochure in the county since demand for this type of offer is increasingly growing on the market.

The offer is versatile and adjusted to different interests and age-groups: you can enjoy in a walk along the river, a bike-ride, in the summer you can swim, and if you have an adventurous spirit you can try rafting and canoeing, paintball, quad-riding, gorse-back riding or enjoy fishing in one of the four clear green rivers.

To cyclotourists we offer over 700 km of bike trails throughout the entire county and over 100 cyclotourism accommodation facilities – Bike &Beds.

Croatian Olympic centre Bjelolasica is a prominent location considered as paradise by nature-enthusiasts and lovers of all adventure and extreme sports.

We also have the Rastoke waterfalls, formed by playful nature itself at the confluence of the rivers Slunjčica and Korana. Nature took the blue and green waters of river Slunjčica and dispersed them into numerous waterfalls, great and tiny. Rastoke are special because three hundred years ago this rich greenery covering the tiny islands and rocks was combined with a human settlement with watermills. What nature created over thousands of years and what man has later made trying to adapt to the natural environment perfectly blends in into one. Because of this the historical, ethnographic and architectural cultural heritage, Rastoke were officially proclaimed a cultural monument by the Regional institute for the protection of cultural monuments in Zagreb in 1969.

The town of Karlovac was founded in the 16th century and is known as the town on four rivers and the town of parks. Did you know that in August the fifth river starts flowing through Karlovac: the river of beer during the Karlovac days of beer?
Did you know that the construction of the historical Louise road started in Rijeka in 1803 and ended in 1811 in Karlovac?
And ideal choice for a relaxing, nostalgic trip through history, for enjoying natural beauties and meeting people who live next to it.
Along the road you will find original mileposts, bridges and viaducts, notches, side channels, abutments, walls for the protection from wind, all built two hundred years ago.

Did you know that until recently the nails for camels sold all over the North Africa were manufactured in Karlovac, ?
Did you know that Ogulin has become the homeland of fairy-tales thanks to Ivana Brlić Mažuranić?

There are many more excitements and interesting things that we leave to you to discover on your own.We are well aware of the fact that the culinary offer is a must for every tourist destination, and an excellent wine is just as important as a good meal. Numerous restaurants strive to combine these two pleasures and we trust that the offer of the award-winning wines from the Ozalj region and Vivodina will satisfy any visitor.

The activities for the tourists  available in the Karlovac County are completed by a series of cultural and tourist events held throughout the year, and this makes us certain that this is a destination to which you will return.

We hope that you will also visit some of the excursion destinations. If we have interested you to come and visit us, we invite you to look up the details on our website or call us.

We are more than happy to solve any of your dilemmas, answer your questions or recommend a vacation destina