Kotli

The Mirna runs through a bed of soft limestone at Kotli and has worn out a series of round basins, each a smooth-sided cauldron a metre or two across with water spilling from one into the next - the name means kettles. They are swum in and sat in through the summer. Beside them is the village of Kotli, a stone hamlet with a mill that was abandoned in the second half of the twentieth century as people left the Istrian interior, and which has been partly restored since, with a few houses reoccupied and a small konoba operating in season. It is a short walk from the parking area down to the water.

What you actually see

• Round basins in the rock - worn by the river, spilling one to the next.
• A stone village and mill - abandoned and partly restored.
• Pools to sit in - shallow and warm in summer.
• A short walk down - from the parking above.

When to go

May to September; the pools are cold and full outside that. Two to three hours.

Honest expectations

The rock around the pools is extremely slippery. Water levels fall in late summer and can leave the basins stagnant. The road down is narrow and parking is very limited. Facilities are one seasonal konoba.

Nearby

Hum, the smallest town in the world, is minutes away; Buzet is north.