Crni Lug
A peaceful mountain village at the main entrance to Risnjak National Park.
A village at the forest edge
Crni Lug lies at around 700 metres above sea level, in a valley surrounded by the dense forests of Gorski Kotar. It is home to the main entrance and headquarters of Risnjak National Park, making it the natural starting point for trips into the park.
The village is known for its clean air, cool summers and snowy winters, welcoming locals and a mountain tradition of woodcraft and hunting.
Mountain tradition
Life in Crni Lug has always been tied to the forest. Wooden houses, sawmills and hunting tales are part of local identity, and the regional cuisine offers game, mushrooms, blueberries and homemade cakes.
Carnival tradition
The pesniki of Crni Lug
On Pust, the last day of carnival, Crni Lug wakes to bells, accordion music and song. Young men in colourful costumes, tall pointed hats trimmed with ribbons, animal-like masks, wooden sticks and bells walk from Malo Selo through Crni Lug and its hamlets, dancing the kolo in front of houses to drive away winter and evil spirits and welcome the spring.
Anyone they meet may be rubbed with snow or splashed with water – for health and cleansing – or “šican”, tossed into the air. The gifts they collect pay for an evening masked ball. Around three centuries old, the custom is protected as Croatian intangible cultural heritage.
Easy to reach
Crni Lug is about 12 km from Delnice and the A6 Zagreb – Rijeka motorway. Rijeka and the sea are less than an hour away, and Zagreb about an hour and a half by car.
Delnice
Rijeka and the sea
Zagreb
Your stay in nature starts here
Get in touch for availability and prices. We reply quickly and personally.