Muževa Hižica Cave

Just off the Zeleni Vir loop trail lies one of Gorski Kotar's most unusual cave sights — Muževa Hižica ('The Man's Little House'), a natural rock shelter with the improbable feature of a small stream running right through its middle. The cave is only 40 metres long but its entrance chamber is a beautifully sculpted piece of karst architecture, and inside, archaeologists have found flint tools and reindeer bones proving human occupation as far back as the Palaeolithic — one of the northernmost Ice Age sites in the Dinaric Alps. Local folklore made this the home of an evil forest hermit who lured travellers to their deaths; more prosaically, it was probably used by shepherds sheltering summer flocks. The cave is a short 15-minute detour off the main Zeleni Vir trail, well signposted with wooden markers, and requires no equipment beyond sensible footwear and a torch to see the rear chamber. The cool draft of air from the cave interior is a welcome relief on hot summer hikes. Do not enter alone in heavy rain — the small stream can swell to fill the entrance.