Nature park Medvednica is situated on the mountain north of the capital Zagreb. In the winter it offers possibilities for winter sport on its cooler northern slope, and the rest of the year it is a delightful area for walking and cycling through the beautiful beech woods. The park offers leisurely walking trails with benches, but also more strenuous routes for mountain hiking. Don’t forget to pay a visit to the medieval ruins of ‘Medvedgrad’.
Animal and plant life in the heterogeneous habitats on Medvednica is very rich. NP Medvednica is mostly covered with beech and oak forests (63.6%), and is rich in a variety of plant species of which several are rare or even endangered. The forests, under-wood, meadows, cleared land, and mountain streams provide good living conditions for many species, like reptiles, fish, amphibians, birds and mammals. You can see the beautiful hoopoe bird, many owl species, hares, wild boar and roe deer.

Educational trail Miroslavec – this is a 3 km long geological educational trail, which takes about 60 min with an altitude of 450- 580m. It is located on a mountain trail between Šestinski lagvić and Kraljičin zdenac.
The complex geological history and Medvednica’s structure are shown with numerous illustrations. The introductory panel shows a geological map of Medvednica, and the route of the educational trail, and the remaining 6 panels show geological periods, and rocks which can be seen along the way, like green schist, clay schist, deep sea limestone, and fossils which can be found in such rocks. Rock descriptions contain clear information about their age, structure and origin.

Forest trail Bliznec – this is the first educational trail in Croatia which is completely, in construction and content, adapted to persons with special needs is 800 m long. The trail follows Bliznec stream on the Sljeme road between a cable-way and Bliznec mill (bistro «Šumarski gablec»). The 11 educational panels are located on the trail and tell about natural, cultural, and historical significances of this locality. Along 800 meters of the trail forest books are placed which contain the texts of educational panels in Braille alphabet, as well as resting places with benches. In time the educational trail got yet another attraction, the Way of the Cross, along with texts in Braille alphabet.

500 Horvat’s steps – these steps are the work of Vladimir Horvat, a great nature lover, mountain climber and caver, who single-handedly carved 500 steps in this, until than inaccessible but beautiful karst island on Medvednica, by which he enabled other mountaineers and visitors to enjoy it, as well. Besides that, he adapted cave Medvednica for visitations, discovered Dwarf’s cave and a couple of abysses, and by the shore of a stream, in thick forest shade, he set a beautiful resting place with terraces, benches for visitors and one shed in case of bad weather, and called it Srnec.

Educational trail Bistra – this trail shows you the natural, geological, cultural and environmental characteristics of the northern part of Medvednica. The trail starts at Gornja Bistra, rises to Bistransko sedlo at an elevation of 800m, than goes downhill towards forestry Ostrica, and back to Orsic castle in Gornja Bistra. The tour lasts 6-8 hours, but you can also walk just a part of it. The whole trail is marked with signposts and interpretative panels that warn and inform about certain natural phenomenon.

Cave – Špilja Veternica
Veternica is the sixth largest cave in Croatia, and has more than 7km of branched sideways, the length of these underground corridors is constantly expanding due to further research into the cave by speleologists. For visitors, under the guidance of a guide, you can visit the first 380 meters of the cave. Although the cave does not look so attractive at first sight, the cave Veternica has many details that you rarely see elsewhere, such as signs of cave bears, fossils of old shells and sea urchins, and much more. Entrance tickets are available on site or via the webshop of the park (see below).

Cave – Zrinski mine
The Zrinski mine was already opened in the 16th century, when in the area ​​galenite and lead shine, the precursor of silver were found. The miners began to deepen the underground corridors in search of the precious metals. It was not easy to work in the mines – harsh manual labour where miners with tools excavated the valuable ores in the dark mines, only lit by the shimmering of oil lamps and candles. Entrance tickets are available on site or via the webshop of the park (see below).

Entrance tickets
Entrance tickets to Medvedgrad, the Veternica cave and Zrinski mine can now also be purchased via the official webshop of Croatian parks.

Address
Nature park Medvednica
Forestry Bliznec, Bliznec bb
10000 Zagreb, Croatia

Contact
telephone +385 1 4586 317
e-mail info@pp-medvednica.hr
website www.pp-medvednica.hr and www.parkovihrvatske.hr