Bale, a place with a rich history and a magical landscape, offers an unforgettable experience that combines the beauty of stone architecture, beautiful beaches and promenades along the sea, interspersed with meadows and forests where you can observe various types of butterflies. The coast, nine kilometers long, hides the modern camp Mon Perin and the crystal clear sea that makes this corner of Istria special.
In addition to the diverse scents of Mediterranean herbs, visitors can also enjoy the gastronomic delicacies of local restaurants, and some of the most significant moments are spent at the renovated stations that reflect the Istrian tradition. There are also fascinating paleontological finds, such as the remains of dinosaurs under the sea, which further enriches the cultural and natural heritage of this beautiful area.
Fairytale Creatures - The district of Bale – a district of butterflies.
A butterfly is featured on Bale's coat of arms. This clean and pristine area is home to 390 species of butterfly. Many species of those fairy tale creatures are endangered and legally protected and they can be encountered only in a few places in the world. If you decide to visit Bale make sure you bring your camera with you and maybe you will get a chance to immortalise the flight of one of those beautiful creatures. You will almost certainly come across butterflies on our biking and trekking tracks.
The pearl that is Bale already almost operates as a Hotel town. The vision of the county's development has been encompassed in a study purposely made so that Bale does not develop uncontrollably in the future. The aim of its inhabitants is for the entire town to function as a hotel in the future. There will be a reception at the town's entrance. Its fabulous white stone streets will be the hotel's halls. The legendary Casanova used to walk these magnificent streets. It has recently been discovered that he had visited Bale on two occasions, in 1743 and 1744 to see a young lady from the Soardo family. He surely felt the beauty and the charm of this ancient town.
Bale is getting ready to become a town hotel for real. The cooperation of accommodation owners, caterers and other tourism workers creates the prerequisites for it. The brand Bale encompasses all the participants in the touristic offer. The offer that satisfies the strict criteria will be a part of the trademark – and guarantees not only quality but the participation in the Bale tourism story which needs to be experienced, not only told.
Beautifully rural scenery, dominated by forests, olive groves, fields, vineyards and orchards reign in the District of Bale's interior. There are about eighty homesteads in the area, called stancije in Istria. Stancije used to be family run affairs and we plan to revitalise about forty stancije in the area in order to give a special identity to Bale's interior. One already renovated stancija, known for producing olive oil and wines of the highest quality points the way ahead, and there is no doubt that stancije can offer pleasure and creature comforts in a pristine environment to tourists.
Bale's shoreline is a pristine part of Istria’s coast, without big hotels and other buildings. The shoreline is nine kilometres long, surrounded by exceptionally clean sea. Down by the sea you are not too far away to smell the scent of Mediterranean vegetation, which grows there in abundance. Located in the west of Istria Bale's shoreline boasts a magnificent view of the Brijuni islands, and its sunsets will, surely, forever grace your memory.
The shoreline area is rich in archaeological sites, and one can also find remains of old roads, parts of Roman villas and oil presses and there is also a magnificently preserved fortification complex from the Dual Monarchy period.
On this really pristine shoreline, only seven kilometres from Bale are the San Polo and Colone camps. They stretch along some ten kilometres of Bale's shoreline and have a sewage system and tap water. The camps also have mobile homes for rent.
The camps are being managed by Mon Perin ltd. This is a special Bale story,too. Mon Perin has been founded in 2005 by citizens of Bale, the county of Bale and its friends. At the beginning the company had 740 stakeholders and a share capital worth 12 million kunas. It is today worth around 30 million kunas, while the company counts more than 900 stakeholders. Since the people of Bale decided not to sell their land, Mon Perin got the land where the camps are to manage for 50 years.
The shoreline will retain its pristine condition in the future because it has been decided that the distance from the sea to the nearest accommodation facilities will be about 700 metres, which is a reflection of wishes and visions of those who manage the town of Bale and, by extension, of all those who live in the district. They all work towards a common goal – to develop Bale in harmony with the environment and they will not falter in that determination. Furthermore, that determination has been replicated into all the pertinent documents regarding Bale's future development.
When some bones were found on the sea bed in Bale in 1992 nobody realised how important the discovery really was. It was a 'discovery of the century'. The bones retrieved from the sea were in fact dinosaur bones. It has been estimated that at least ten dinosaur species lived in this area. One of them is the Brachiosaurus, one of the largest dinosaurs ever to roam the earth whose weight reached 30 tons and could grow to be up to 25 metres long. This discovery put Bale in the World List of Paleontological Sites. Bale's site, as far as it is known, is the only find in the world that has dinosaur remains under the sea. It is believed that some of the bones are 200 million years old.
Make sure you visit Bale and the MMC “Ulika” whose showcases encompass the bones of these huge animals, touch the footprints and remains of these remarkable creatures that used to rule the world.
The tourist card of Bale would not be complete without the agricultural dimension. The area of Bale is a real treasure throve of indigenous sorts of olives as well as other symbols of healthy food and traditional ecological agriculture and quality wines and cheeses. Bale's olive oils, for the most part produced from the indigenous Buza but also from other sorts of olives form an inevitable part of all the prestigious publications dealing with olive oils. Bale's olive oils have also received many awards and prizes. This should come as no surprise in the light of the fact that olives have been grown in this area since Roman times. Thirty centuries of the olive growing tradition has given birth to a legend claiming that travellers could negotiate the way from the town to the shore, a distance of seven kilometres, hopping from one olive to the next without touching the ground at all. Bale's citizens want to share the beauty of their olive groves and in future it will be possible to stroll down an olive path and all those who want to enjoy the charms of olive picking will be able to indulge in that joy in the olive groves there. In the desire to give an additional boost to olive growing in the district the planting and growing of olives is actively encouraged. Even though Bale's citizens traditionally do not grow olives for commercial purposes many typical Istrian vines can be found in the area – Malvasia and Istrian Teran. These wines will always go down well with Bale's cheeses and homemade Istrian cuisine – something that lacks not at all in Bale.
There is no rush in Bale, so we suggest all those who lead a stressful life to stop and enjoy the scents of aromatic herbs. The scent of sage, immortelle, rosemary, lavender and many other plants is spreading through Bale and its surroundings and the only thing you have to do is take a deep breath – it will relax your body and soul.
