Mala Učka is the highest rural settlement in Istria, located at an elevation of 995 metres above sea-level.
In the past, this village used to have 130 inhabitants (locally called Učkari) who engaged in cattle breeding and were famous for their high-quality cheese.
During World War Two, on the 30th of April 1944, Italian and German soldiers burned down the entire village. After the war, the remaining inhabitants moved out due to the harsh economic situation. Despite this, the village remained so quaint and picturesque that it was listed in the Registry of immovable cultural monuments in 1976 as a protected rural unit. Today the village of Mala Učka has no permanent residents, but every year in the summer months, the Maliki, a shepherding family, come back to take full advantage of the area's high-quality pasturing. Visitors can buy some excellent sheep's milk cheese and curd cheese at their house.The diversity of Mala Učka's flora and the beauty of its relief and rural landscape, with the village surrounded by mighty rocks and pastures, represent an extraordinarily valuable natural heritage. To reach the village, take the gravel road from the village of Vela Učka.