It is a sheer pleasure to sit at the roofed terrace of the Butina household in centre of Kuterevo, a Velebit mountain village known for superb wood craftsmen and the Bear Orphanage. We are here to learn more about the mountains that surround Gacka Valley. This dichotomy is extremely important, as the Valley cannot be comprehended without visiting mountains that surround it. The place is very popular among the many volunteers in the Bear Orphanage, but among the visitorts from

The mountain village of Kuterevo is famous for its carpenters, known for the high-quality barrels, bukara (wooden mug for wine drinking), chairs, and especially the long-necked lute tamburica dangubica or samica, usually known also as kuterevka. It is made of hard raw wood which is carefully chosen by a master,making sure that the tree grew on skimpy terrain away from tall trees, in order to have the proper texture and clean grain, with no lumps. The best tamburitzas are made