Pazinski krov
Location: PazinLength: 1,5 kmElevation gain: 37 mDifficulty: EasyDifficulty rating: K1, T1, VR1
Pazinski krov (the “Pazin Roof”) could be called the twin brother of Zarečki krov, which lies 2 km upstream as the crow flies and which we have already written about.
So this too is a semicircular cave, somewhat shallower but also somewhat higher than the one at Zarečki krov, over which the Pazinčica River plunges in a waterfall into a lake of a distinctive green colour. For all the similarity, there is a whole string of details that set the two places apart, and it would be unfair to single out one of them. Even though we visited them one after the other, we were not bored for a single moment despite how alike they are. Quite the opposite!
At the time of our visit, Pazinski krov had two waterfalls. When the water is higher there can be more of them, but in dry spells only one may be left, or even that one may dry up.
What delighted us most, upstream of the waterfalls, is a riverbed even more interesting than the one at Zarečki krov. It is full of distinctive grooves and round hollows (“potholes”) of various sizes, characteristic of many rivers in Istria. Between them the river runs in little rapids and small cascades that you have to hop across to reach the other bank. Naturally, there must be times of year when this is impossible because of the higher water level.
There is a promenade along the river, and the whole site is larger than the one at Zarečje. On top of that, right by the waterfall on the left bank there is an attractive rock shelter that is a favourite with boulderers.
The waterfall itself is here: 45.24360539919362, 13.935119175984882. We parked the car by the cemetery (no charge) and went down an improvised path. Our way back took us along part of footpath 713 (the Roman Road), which comes out at Pazin Castle here: 45.24015400911591, 13.931695377909884. From the waterfall to the exit at the castle is some 570 m, and the whole loop took us about 1.5 km and 1.5 h with all the stops, photographs and a bite to eat.
Like Zarečki krov and the Pazinska jama, Pazinski krov is one of the most recognisable symbols of the Pazin area and certainly one of the most interesting natural attractions in Istria and in Croatia.
Special
Although our focus is on Croatia, due to great interest in reviewing some international locations from our travels, we decided to launch the Special section. In it, we will not cover locations in the same detailed way we do with Croatian ones, but will instead provide a brief overview of multiple locations grouped into meaningful categories. The only criterion we still strictly follow is that they must be natural attractions.
