Zeleni Vir, water spring

🇺🇸 First of, the road to get there is TERRIBLE. I've had situations where google maps directed me to a road which is so poorly maintained that it's impossible to pass through it with a car, so I figured it's one of these situations. You drive through narrow but maintained road through a village and at one point get to a 3km to your destination. Road on this last 3 km is REALLY TERRIBLE. Gigantic potholes, rocks and branches on the road and worst of all it so narrow that ONE car can barely drive on it and it's a TWO WAY road! With only a few wider parts so that if need arises two cars can pass each other. So you spend those 3km driving very slowly because of the bad condition of the road and PRAYING TO GOD that someone doesn't come from the opposite direction. So some people try the road and others park at the beginning of it and walk 3 km to the end.
If you do survive the road you are greeted with a big, well maintained parking lot.
You need to buy the ticket to see Zeleni vir and Vražji prolaz and it costs 25kn. But in the end it's all worth it! Zeleni vir is a BEAUTIFUL waterfall surround with a BIG cavern. It's really something. And Vražji prolaz is a cleft in the mountain through which water runs and which is connected with a series of wal ways. At the end of this walk is a BEAUTIFUL CAVERN, not very deep, some 200m which you can explore all by yourself. Super interesting and adventurous! Just watch your head, don't forget to bring a flashlight (or use your cellphone flash) and bring some waterproof boots because it's wet and very muddy inside!
All in all, HIGHLY recommended!!
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🇭🇷 Prije svega, put do tamo je GROZAN. Imao sam situacije u kojima me google usmjerio na cestu koja je toliko slabo održavana da je kroz nju nemoguće proći autom, pa sam zaključio da je to jedna od tih situacija. Vozite se uskom ali održavanom cestom kroz selo i u jednom trenutku stignete 3km do vašeg odredišta. Cesta ta posljednja 3 km je zaista STRAŠNA. Ogromne rupe, kamenje i grane na cesti, a najgore od svega, cesta je toliko uska da JEDAN automobil jedva može voziti po njoj i to je DVOSMJERNA CESTA! Ima samo nekoliko širih dijelova, tako da u slučaju potrebe dva automobila mogu proći jedan drugoga. Tako da vozite ta 3 km jako sporo zbog lošeg stanja na cesti i MOLITE SE BOGU da netko ne dođe iz suprotnog smjera. Tako da neki skupe hrabrost i odu tom cestom, a drugi parkiraju na početku te pješače 3 km do kraja. Ako preživite cestu, dočeka vas veliko, dobro održavano parkiralište. Morate kupiti kartu da biste vidjeli Zeleni vir i Vražji prolaz i košta 25kn. Ali na kraju sve to vrijedi! Zeleni vir je PREKRASAN slap pored kojeg je VELIKA špilja. Super izgleda. A Vražji prolaz je pukotina u planini kroz koju teče voda i koja je povezana nizom šetnjica. Na kraju te šetnje je PREKRASNA ŠPILJA, ne baš duboka, nekih 200m koje možete sve istražiti sami. Super zanimljivo i avanturističko! Samo pazite na glavu, ne zaboravite ponijeti svjetiljku (ili upotrijebite bljeskalicu svog mobilnog telefona) i ponesite neke vodootporne čizme jer je unutra vlažno i jako blatno! Sve u svemu, PREPORUČUJEM!!

To sum it all up: extraordinary nature but it comes with a price.

If you are looking for a wonderful one-day trip in the nature, search no more! This is it, it has everything: from the cleanest water you will ever see, cave with a small lake, waterfall, canyon, to the extraordinary green nature with all sorts of flowers and trees.

Ticket costs 25kn per person, and you can buy it near mountain house which is also the starting point of 2 available routes you can take (you will take both, because they are not that long). First one to take is Waterfall route which takes 15minutes till waterfall and 15 minutes back to mountain house.

Second and most popular is "Vražji prolaz" route which takes 30 minutes till cave and 30 minutes back. When you reach the cave, you can eneter it but be careful: it is dark and slippery with lots of mud, and can get very narrow at points. You will need a flashlight to see anything. These is where bats are, and at the end of it you can see small lake. After that you can go back to the mountain house where you can drink coffee or eat some available meal. Prices are standard.

Now let's talk about bad side of this trip: if you are coming with a car and plan to go directly to the mountain house, be very WARNED! Road which takes you down to the house is absolutely TERRIBLE! If you are not experienced driver, or have a new car, think twice before taking that route. Road is steep and narrow to the point that if you come across another car going in opposite direction, you will have troubles to pass him, and there is abyss on your right side (if coming down). Road is just terrible, lots of holes and rocks on the the road. It can also be muddy and wet. There are two better ways to come there but you will need more walking. (I didn't take them but little googling and looking at other reviews can save you lot of troubles).

Last but not least: this is very popular place during weekends so prepare for lots of people, narrow and steep walking routes (on some part slippery as well, and muddy). Have some shoes for mountains, please don't be dressed as though you are going in the city. With all that being said, please remember to enjoy every bit of nature and don't let too much people, bad roads or mud mess with your nerves and patience. This is a wonderful place to visit, and i hope its infrastructure will change in the future.

PS. There is lots of parking places at several nearby locations so you don't have to worry too much about that. (Parking is free btw)

Great spot for hiking. Couple options for trails. Path was dog friendly. Waterfall was amazing. The road to get to the parking was a little sketchy at times. But everyone drove slow and took turns pulling over to let the oncoming cars pass. Two cars definitely can’t fit.

Most beautiful nature and textbook examples of geological structures, any one who loves and respects nature should see waterfall Zeleni vir and go thru Devils pass (Vražiji prolaz).

Really great place for relax your head. Fresh air, nice landscape, very good and easy hiking trail.

Beautiful! Enjoyed it more then some more popular places in Croatia. Quite a steep climb so I wouldn't recommend for young children (though we did se some parents with children...). If you're child is moody - just don't. At the end of the climb there is the cave which you can enter and explore (it's a small cave fyi). At the front of the entrence where you start your climb, there is a restaurant. Ticket price for both locations (waterfall and the climb towards the cave) is 20 KN.

Deep in the Gorski Kotar area this stunning miracle of nature is placed. The spring Zeleni Vir, with huge waterfall beside the cave.

Zeleni Vir is a fresh water spring formed like an accumulation lake inside a high cave. The water comes from the underground but also constantly falls from the rock ceiling. Thanks to the shade of the cave the water dark green, not turquoise as usual karst wells. It goes instantly over a small dam built for the purpose of nearby hydroplant and connects with the water from Curak stream that falls from a cliff on the other side of the canyon, making the whole place an interesting mix of bare rock and water.

Beautiful and relatively easy trail that goes side by side with the most beautiful river Kupa, absolutely stunning

Beautiful place. Easy for a one day trip with kids. Just love it

Really nice protected area with a tall waterfall, 45min passage/canyon and a cave. Great for a short-medium hike. The infrastructure could be safer!

Very beautiful nature. Not so crowded with people. Circle from train station to zeleni vir and to vrazji prolaz and again to train station is around 2.5 hours easy walking.

Absolutely amazing, water spring, water falls , caves, trails great!

Great place.

Nice place to see, but is bad road to come there

Great all day family trip spot with pristine nature views and atmosphere

Beautiful nature be careful on the road rocks and thin!

Amazing place, really one of nature's pearls!!
Don't skip on any of the 2 walks. Both are doable.

The waterfall and the cavern aren't very far.
But use your head, the warning signs are there for a reason.

About the road:
The road down is an adventure in itself, it's doable with a normal car with normal suspension.
The trouble starts when traffic comes from the other side though

I don't think it's the best idea to drive down there with a large camper though, it's probably better to park near Donji Lozac and hike up the road following the river. Or park near Skrad station and hike down.

Canyon Vražiji prolaz. Must see! 800m long canyon.

I highly recommend this place if you wish to visit a quiet national park without terrible crowds that Krka and Plitvice have. Also the entrance fee is a lot more reasonable than at the other 2 parks :)

It is not very clear from the website how long the hikes take so here are two estimates:
- hike to the devil's passage and back: about 45 mins

- hike to the waterfall Zeleni Vir and back: under 25 mins

If you want to you can do a 4hr circular hike also. It is about 7 km. We just did the back and forth trips to the two attractions and were very happy with this choice.