Sometimes snow isn't just “winter.” Sometimes it's a pause. Silence. This is our little winter album – and a reminder that you don't always have to run far away. Sometimes you just need to know why you're running.
Most winter landscapes turn black and white. Ours doesn't. Have you ever noticed this Una phenomenon? The lower the air temperature, the "warmer" and more intense its color seems. While nature around it retreats into greyness and whiteness, the river defies. It is the only movement in the static picture of winter.
In summer, lush canopies carefully hide our treehouse – protecting it from the sun and curious eyes. But winter is honest; it bares everything. Only under snow is it clear how this shelter nestled among branches. Suddenly, the view is clear, and from its terrace, there is a view that simply doesn't exist in summer due to the density of leaves. Winter uses the forest to reveal secrets it otherwise keeps to itself.
You know that sound when walking on wooden bridges in summer? That dull echo of steps?
Snow changes that. It acts as perfect sound insulation. Walking the islands in winter is an acoustic experience – you hear only the quiet crunch of snow under boots and your own breath. Wood, warm to the touch in summer, now becomes a frame for snow sculptures. Bridge railings are no longer just safety, but a gallery of unique shapes sculpted by the wind every hour.
Japodski Islands are an excursion site and tourist settlement on the Una river near Bihać. Winter is ideal for walking, photography, and a "reset" day in nature. The accommodation and rafting season runs from April to October, and in winter we publish albums and stories from Una.
There is a special pleasure in looking cold in the eye, yet it cannot touch you. Our domes aren't here just to look "worldly". They awaken that primal feeling of safety – like when you're a child watching a storm through a warm room window. Only here there is no wall. Between you and the snowflake is just transparent foil. You are in the forest, but not in the forest.
Although our domes sleep through winter (as we work seasonally from April to October), the sight of them under snow awakens imagination. It's a view of a feeling – what would it be like to lie inside, warm, watching a movie, while snowflakes hit the transparent ceiling? Honestly, we still wonder if we could heat them in these minuses. We haven't tried yet. But it's nice to dream.
Although the season starts only in spring, the wooden doors of Japodski Islands have no key. They are open all year for a walk, a breath, an escape. It's our way of saying "welcome" even when we are not physically there.
Winter on Japodski Islands is not for freezing. It's for resetting.
See you on the bridge – first, second, or fifth…
If you want us to notify you when we open the season and publish the first dates — leave your email or send the message "SEASON" on the contact form.
"Winter is for dreaming, but spring is for action. Book your date for the new season in time!"
