Rastoke, the mill village where water runs between the houses

You arrive in Rastoke almost by chance, perhaps while heading down towards the Dalmatian coast along the old road. You stop because from far off you catch the steady sound of running water, and then you see it: a tiny village built literally on top of the falls, where the river Slunjčica plunges into the Korana in dozens of cascades and channels. The stone and timber houses seem to float amid the currents, linked by walkways and little bridges that cross the white water.

For centuries the force of the river turned the mills here. Some still grind grain, others have become small homes or cafés where you can sit and listen to the rushing water. Wandering the lanes takes less than an hour, but it's worth slowing down: every corner opens onto a different waterfall, the water is a translucent emerald green and moss blankets the rocks. It's a landscape that closely recalls the far more famous Plitvice Lakes, barely thirty kilometres away, but without the tour buses and the queues.

That's exactly the point: those racing towards Plitvice often overlook Rastoke, and so the village remains a place where you feel like a guest rather than a tourist. Visit in the early morning or late afternoon, once the few day-trippers have gone. Stay the night in one of the mill-houses: after dark the sound of the water becomes a lullaby, and at dawn you'll have the waterfalls almost entirely to yourself.

To respect such a fragile place, stick to the marked paths, throw nothing into the channels and favour small local producers, from river trout to bread milled on the spot. Rastoke is easily reached from Karlovac or from Zagreb in a little over an hour by car, and it's proof that sometimes wonder hides just a few steps from the most beaten paths.

Getting there

Rastoke is effectively a waterside quarter of Slunj, along the road linking Karlovac to the Plitvice Lakes. By car you come from Zagreb, taking the A1 motorway to the Karlovac exit and then continuing on the main road towards Slunj and Plitvice; the village is a short distance from the centre of Slunj and can also be reached on foot. There are daily bus services connecting Zagreb's coach station to Slunj, and it makes a handy stop about half an hour from the Plitvice Lakes. The nearest airport is Zagreb.