Samobor is not only the town, but its hilly surroundings, with many inns, homesteads and mountain huts, goals of many gastronomy pilgrims. This is famous and old mountaineering destination. The first organised mountaineering expedition in Croatia took place in Samobor mountains in 1875. Already three years after that Croatian Mountaineering Association started to make first hiking paths in this beautiful green region. On top of hills viewing platforms were built, and Samobor soon became the main holiday destination for Zagreb citizens.
Today, the Samobor Mountains is criss-crossed with hiking path, measuring from easy walks to some serious trekking. There are several hiking path networks you can choose, connecting peaks, mountain huts, local museums, and villages. Most of them start or finish in Samobor itself, giving you a unique opportunity to start hiking practically from the very centre of the town.
The mountain huts themselves care for the culinary story themselves. Apart from the local herbalists and natural food lovers, who make fantastic teas and imaginative meals, most mountain huts employ over the weekends local grannies or locally famous culinary masters (which comes approximately to same thing). They make spectacular but simple food, for which the mountain huts themselves are known and thus make a great hiking destination. Recently, newly built roads bring also motorised nature goers.
For example, the mountain hut Žitnica, beneath Japetić (879m), the highest peak in the Samobor Mountains, has excellent cottage cheese and sour cream, duck or geese with mlinci, and beautiful and rich local strudels, not to forget the local wine. Japetić stands above Plešivica wine region, and especially good atmosphere can be found here in early autumn, when first young wine portugizac arrives.
On a pass between Japetić and Plešivica (779m) is Hunter’s Lodge Srndać, known for the game dishes of mostly smaller wild animals, such as rabbits and pheasants. In this corner of majestic valley between two mountain sides sits also Rural Homestead Oslaković, in a picturesque village of Prekrižje. Here you can enjoy the homemade food such as ham, bacon, cheese, češnjovka (garlic sausage), turkey or hen with homemade mlinci, and beef soup with homemade noodles, something that brings most of Croats to the childhood memories. But, same as in the hunting lodge, Oslaković is known for the game dishes. Here you can savour pheasant soup, duck breasts in dark sauce, filled roast boar, game stew. All of this comes from the area you can splendidly see from the terrace of this household.
Nearby, at the Veliki vrh mountain hut you may try enormously big cutlets, while on a solitary peak of Oštrc you may find unique Rudarska greblica.