Brest pod Učkom is a quaint village located entirely within the borders of Učka Nature Park at a height of 708 metres above sea-level amidst a fertile field on the Ćićarija plateau.
The people here were once famous for producing charcoal. The forest was their main source of income: it provided the firewood for their homes, but also for producing charcoal, which they would then sell in Opatija, Rijeka, Lovran and other places along the coast.
In addition to arable farming and cattle-breeding, the main occupation of the local people was the production of charcoal in piles called "karbunice", from which even today one can see smoke rising.
To sample or buy some home-made sheep's milk cheese, ask local people for the Rumac brothers. These brothers make their cheese and curd cheese from the milk of the indigenous Istrian sheep breed called pramenka, and their flocks graze freely on the pastures of Ćićarija.