The Seven Waterfalls Trail

How do you write an article about a trail that passes no fewer than seven waterfalls without a photograph of most of them? Since this trail has been on our list for years now, we could not ignore it any longer. We decided to publish the article with the photographs we have, because this trail is worth walking even when the waterfalls on it fall silent.

Most Istrian streams and waterfalls dry up for part of the dry season. In winter there is no vegetation to speak of and everything is quite muddy, so the ideal time of year to visit Istria’s waterfalls is spring. Late autumn could work too, but summers are getting longer and drier, so it is questionable how far the first rains fill all the stream beds and falls.

When we first heard of this trail it was not yet all that popular. We put it on the wish list along with many others. After a while more and more photographs began appearing, carefully framed and heavily edited. We refused to fall into the trap of excessive expectations. We had the impression it was a somewhat overhyped place, but our curiosity kept growing. At around the same time the first photographs of Kotli started appearing – unreally blue circles carved into the rock, shot by drone, “the Croatian Pamukkale”. We had never even heard of Kotli until then, even though they are right next to Hum, the smallest town in the world, which we had visited several times. Kotli lies at the exact halfway point of the circular Seven Waterfalls Trail, but since it can be reached by car we treat it as a place in its own right, and we will write more about it in a separate article.

Our first visit to the Seven Waterfalls Trail was in the week after the Easter holidays. Although the vegetation is only just waking up then, we did not want to risk putting the visit off any longer, because that year the spring, and a good part of the winter too, had been fairly dry.

On that visit the waterfalls looked as if they were on their last legs, but all of them were running. For comparison, Benkovski slap and Sopot (Copot) near Buzet were not flowing at the time. During that visit, however, our main phone died with all the photographs on it, so we had nothing to put an article together with.

During the dry season most of the waterfalls in Istria dry up

This year we had an unusually wet spring that culminated in widespread flooding across Croatia. After several weeks we finally got a forecast promising reasonably good weather for the weekend, and we thought this was the moment to visit Istria, expecting the waterfalls to be in full flow. But we were wrong. This time there was even less water than on the first visit, so most of the waterfalls along this trail were not running at all. The whole of Croatia had clearly had rain to spare, but inland Istria had been left out.

On that first visit the Seven Waterfalls Trail exceeded all our expectations! The repeat visit, even with the falls dried up, only confirmed our impressions from the first. This is an exceptional place that can stand shoulder to shoulder with the finest trails in Croatia – but there are a couple of “buts”, which we will come to later.

The trail starts below Buzet, to be precise south-east of the town. You can leave the car at the Istrian waterworks. The car park at the start of the trail fills up fast, but there is plenty of space around. From there you head upstream along the bank of the river Mirna. The trail is designed as a circuit running clockwise, so it begins on the right bank of the river, although some people set off the other way round.

The first stretch along the embankment is a relaxing walk, but since it is out in the open it is not pleasant once the sun gets going. That is worth bearing in mind if you come in late spring, when the sun is very strong with the summer solstice approaching. If you are tempted to drive this nearly one-kilometre stretch of the trail, bear in mind that, quite apart from it being prohibited, along the entire length there are perhaps only two places where you could pass a vehicle coming the other way. There are often plenty of people and children on the trail, so it is simply not the done thing.

Exercise equipment has been installed along this section too, so anyone who has not had enough physical activity gets a chance to burn off some surplus energy. The real adventure, though, begins at the end of this section, where the Pivka stream meets the river Mirna. The Pivka stream (Draga, Riječina) has carved itself a deep canyon, in places over 100 m high. The canyon runs parallel to that of the Mirna. Here the landscape changes, the vegetation is lush and the trail moves into the shade.

The whole Seven Waterfalls Trail takes more than 5 hours of walking. If you are not going to climb down to every waterfall you can do it faster, but what would be the point? We always prefer quality over quantity. If you do not have the time and energy for 5 hours of walking and want to cut the trail down as far as possible, our recommendation is to make sure you see the Pivka (Draga) canyon. This section holds three beautiful waterfalls – Zagon, Bačva and Vela peć. There are also two climbing crags with impressive cliffs, and the canyon itself, which is captivating in its own right. All of that can be done properly in an hour and a half. After that you drive to Kotli and spend another half hour there. That way you will have seen a great deal in very little time. But if you have the time and the fitness, by all means walk the whole trail.

Of those first three waterfalls, the highest and most striking is certainly Vela peć. In fact it is the most striking of all the falls on the trail. It is a waterfall over 25 m high with its cliff set on an edge, so that the water falls down both sides! That is something we have not seen anywhere else.

The Bačva waterfall (“the Barrel”) is very interesting too. The water enters a tunnel at the top where it swirls around and bursts out through a lower opening over a stone “barrel”. An incredible “mechanism”!

This waterfall is interesting for one more attraction – the suspension bridge that was installed across the pool at the time of our first visit. This time it was not there. Ropes and cables were snapped, railings collapsed, posts wobbly and unsafe, tree trunks felled across the middle of the path… And here we come to one of those “buts” we mentioned earlier. The trail is poorly maintained. We understand that there is a lot of trail to look after, and that bad weather (torrents, storms, erosion) can do damage in no time that is hard to repair – but this is one of the best-known trails in Croatia and a key asset for local tourism. On that one day alone we counted at least a hundred cars in the car parks around the waterworks and at Kotli. Maintaining a trail like this has to be a priority.

While we are on the subject of how the trail is equipped, you can see that considerable effort has gone into securing all the dangerous sections – ropes, rubber-coated cables, railings, steps cut into the rock on the steep parts and so on. And yet, despite all of this, there have been fatal accidents here. We do not want to frighten anybody, but caution must not be neglected. No photograph and no bit of bravado is worth a sprained ankle, let alone a life. The rocks are often damp and slippery. Mud makes all of it more dangerous still, and a single careless moment is enough for everything to go wrong. That goes especially for young people unused to hiking, who are sold trails like this in the media as some kind of stroll in the park and an ideal backdrop for Instagram. The trail is largely safe and not difficult, but only if you stick to the regular route and only where it is well maintained. If you go scrambling about on the rocks around the waterfalls, that is something else entirely and it can be very dangerous.

Besides the three waterfalls mentioned, on this section of the trail in the Pivka canyon you will also see a blue-green lake, the mouths of abandoned coal mines and two climbing crags. The Vela peć waterfall comes after the first crag, and just above the falls to the right you reach the second. Those who want to shorten the trail finish here and turn back.

Next comes a slightly steeper climb secured with ropes and pegs. Nothing particularly demanding, but it certainly calls for a bit more effort and care if your boots are muddy. This climb over Greben brings you to the top of the canyon, from where the trail carries on towards the Mala peć waterfall. The rock shelter overhanging the pool that this waterfall feeds looks very striking.

To continue, you have to double back part of the way and climb up to the fields at Selca. The old route of the trail went through Selca, but if you would rather not, you can turn off earlier and carry on along the field track.

The next attraction is Napoleon’s (French) bridge. It is 4.5 km from the start of the trail. There are plenty of bridges and roads with that name around Croatia. They came about during Napoleon’s campaigns, built for the needs of the army and its logistics. We know nothing about this particular bridge, but judging by the name we would not expect a different story.

After that comes a couple of kilometres of walking to Kotli. Kotli is a tiny hamlet on the river Mirna. The main attraction is the rocky river bed downstream from the bridge. The first time we were at Kotli it was early morning. Although most of the river bed was in shade, we revelled in the magic of the place. With a little agility, and if the water level allows, you can make your way along the bed from the bridge to the watermill on the right bank. The cuts and “cauldrons” in the stone really are fascinating. If you do not come with unrealistic expectations of experiencing Kotli from a drone’s perspective, this place will delight you. If you have already seen river beds like it (the stretch above Pazinski krov, say, or the top of Benkovski slap), and on top of that you end up here in the middle of a hot day along with a hundred other high-spirited visitors, you will be a good deal less delighted. The water in the pools can be quite cloudy, the atmosphere in the crush of queuing visitors neurotic, and some of the sights downright grotesque. And here we come to another “but” about this trail. On some sections there are simply too many people. If you are after peace and solitude at the height of the season on a weekend, this is not the trail for you. On a weekday in the late afternoon the situation is quite different. On many parts of the trail you will have the place entirely to yourself.

The way back follows the river Mirna downstream. On that section you will see two more waterfalls with beautiful pools – Zelenščak and Grjok. There are climbing crags on this side as well, along with little bridges and small falls, and it is encouraging that the whole return leg is a gentle descent.

Whether it is on your way or the main goal of your trip, we doubt the Seven Waterfalls Trail will leave anybody unmoved!