Slovenia, mountains everywhere

The country with 360 degree views and mountains

I was always interested in travelling to Slovenia, while researching about this country the pictures where always so picturesque and beautiful, mountains everywhere  and so my trip planning began.

I visited Slovenia together with my husband, sister and her husband. We traveled there at the end of October till the beginning of November. I planned a good 11 day trip from nature trips, adventures and a trip down to the beautiful city Ljubljana.

From Malta currently there are no direct flights to Ljubljana or any other airports in Slovenia. We flew to Treviso (Italy) and from there drove through Italy, Austria and Slovenia. The drive took around three hours. Driving in Slovenia is not a big deal, actually drivers are rather calm and patient.  Driving there is on the right-hand side like most countries, but for us Maltese it was the opposite side. It is also very important that one obtains what is called a 'Vignetta'.  This can be bought easily from any petrol station, kiosk and some shops.  From Italy we drove straight to Lake Bled in Slovenia.


First thing we noticed is that during the low season there is close to zero activity. Most restaurants are closed and the few that are open close early.  However that would be the only downside of low season, as we would soon discover that most locations and activities we could enjoy with the least queues, interruptions and unobstructed views.  We stayed in Bled as it is quite central and almost an hour or two away from some of the nicest places in Slovenia. Hotels are not the most expensive however you can find a number of great apartments which you can stay in around the lake. Most people can speak English but we often encountered people who did not.  In such cases you have to either communicate with signals, or if you know Italian you can communicate with most.

On the Pletna boat

You can walk around the Lake enjoying a beautiful road and you can also get a boat ride. You can either hire a Pletna boat (The Pletna boat is a traditional wooden flat boat where the oarsman stands while rowing two rows at the same time) or else you can hire a small boat and row yourself around the lake. While on the boat rental you can stop at the island and walk around it.  The views are mesmerizing from it. There is also a small church and a small cafeteria on it.

On Lake Bled island

The view from Lake Bled island

 Around Lake Bled there are a number of mini markets and also one decent sized supermarket. One can find anything he wants to buy. There is also a 24/7 casino with free entrance. Tables are open from 19:00 till 4:00AM. The casino is not that big and has some slot machines and a nice cocktail bar. In order to enter the bar you need to be 18 years of age or over and make sure you carry your identity card.  Around the lake their is also a number of restaurants, we were slightly disappointed that most restaurants where closed. We did however manage to find one good restaurant called Oštarija Peglez'n. The restaurant itself has a nice retro design, a good menu to choose from and food was actually very good. The owners also speak good Italian.

While doing my research for our trip to Slovenia, I stumbled upon a blog where a specific well preserved cave was mentioned.  I was intrigued by its depth and the vast cave system inside.  This was Krizna Cave (the 'z' is pronounced like the second 'g' in Garage).
This cave is not very advertised and not well known with tourists.  It is mostly visited by people who are interested in the fauna of caves, natural history and for research purposes. In the days that led up to our holiday/adventure, many friends gave us their share of experiences in Slovenia, and many people mentioned Postojna Cave.  It was mentioned so many times, that on the day we had to go for the Krizna Cave tour, we ended up at Postonja Cave, which is a 45 minutes drive away!  When it was time to meet our tour guide, we called him on a mobile number and to our shock that is where we discovered we were at the wrong location.  This guide was the kindest guy ever.  He offered to wait for us for almost an hour, while we drive there. As we rolled our car near the entrance of Krizna Cave, we could not see any fancy big signs telling us where we were.  The guide walked out of a small wooden cabin where the sweet smell of burning wood was coming from.  A nice warmth coming from the stove hugged us as we stepped inside.  We were handed orange boiler suits, safety helmet with a lamp on the forehead and long water-proof boots.  This was already fun!

The explorer

Inside Krizna Cave

We spent four hours touring the cave, walking from one cave to the next, or at times pedaling our way on a small dinghy that our guide carried on his back most of the way.  As we traveled through the cave, we had strict instructions on where we could step on and where we couldn't.  One wrong step and we could have ruined a sediment process of a 100 years.  This is all part of the effort to preserve the cave's natural state.  It's interesting to note that only 1000 visitors per year are allowed to visit.  If the water levels in the cave are too low, no one enters to avoid damage to the cave's floors.  There are a number of living small organisms in this cave including a purple worm, which is a rare sight in caves since most organisms are usually pale and colour less.


This was definitely a much better experience for us, to be walking on uneven paths, passing by hibernating bats and crawling under low ceilings to get to caves lit only by our head lamps, while tourists in Postonja Caves were gliding through the cave system on a train and everywhere lit up with spotlights.

Penguin  slide

Another place we visited was Bovec, here there are a number of activities  and sports one can choose from and several different establishments who offer different activities.  Bovec is surrounded by the Julian Alps, forests and lakes of the Triglav National Park. This town is mostly popular for water sports due to its rapids of Soča river. The town of Bovec is quite small but has a cute charm, there are also some small restaurants which are low cost but have some good quality food. One of the restaurants we went to was Letni Vrt, the restaurant is nicely decorated, staff are nice and prices are good. In Bovec we went to Soča Rafting they offer different activities like rafting, zip lining, canyoning, kayaking and different packages which include multiple activities. It is important to book your preferred activities before you go as both in high and less popular seasons they are always busy.  We chose to do rafting. We went on the last day of the season, usually the season closes from the last day of October till the beginning of March. Activities in the river  are  not allowed at this time, not even canoeing, the reason for this is to give nature enough free time to run its course. During this period river dwelling animals and fish have time to breed.  The guide who came rafting with us called us all 'crazy bunch of people' for coming so late in Autumn. The water level was slightly low but it didn't stop us from rafting.  The course was amazing with some really nice views, the guide was so kind to explain to us many things about the mountains and the river itself.  During the last part of the rafting course you have the option to be slightly courageous, where you can finish with an 8 meter jump. I climbed a huge rock where the only way down is by jumping from a height of 8 meters, into freezing water at 4 degrees.

Slovenia Rafting

Soca Ziplining

From Bovec we went to Soča which is approximate around a fifteen minute drive from Bovec and around an hour and a half from Lake Bled.  Soča is surrounded by mountains  and forests.  We met our guide in Bovec where they then took us to the starting point in Soča. First we had a mini zipline with a practice run. From there on it was pure adrenaline, the first zipline was the worst as it was the biggest drop.  After each line you walk through mountains and trees and rivers to reach the next line. The zipline consists of a total 10 lines and there is around a total of 4KM of ziplining, 4.5KM or walking and one small hanging bridge. For more information you can visit their site on: http://www.zipline.si/en.




Lake bohinj

Very close to Lake Bled (around a 25min drive) is another Lake called Lake Bohinj. This is the largest lake one can find in Slovenia. The lake  is crystal clear and the views are totally amazing. Quite possibly the nicest lake I've seen. There you can go for a nice walk.  It is also great for a nice cup of tea and a book  for some quiet and relaxing time.

Lake Bohinj

Savica waterfall

Savica Waterfall

If you continue driving on, 10minutes away from Lake Bohin there is a Waterfall called waterfall Savica, which flows in Lake Bohinj. This waterfall should be one of your go-to places when you plan to visit Slovenia.  The waterfall takes the shape of an 'A' and is around 80m high. Here one can plan for some hiking trips. To  see the waterfall you need to pay a small entry fee of around 5Eur. There is a nice uphill walk to reach the Savica waterfall, and close to it in the same area there is also a viewpoint where one can see long distant amazing views.  One must expect some people when visiting this waterfall since it is one of the most known for in Slovenia




Vintgar Gorge

Vintgar Gorge

Another must see in Slovenia is Vintgar Gorge. This was discovered back in 1891 and was open for public two years later.  A wooden path was built up so that people can walk along the side of the gorge while enjoying the natural gorge views. The path is quite narrow (some areas are a one person passageway so I would suggest avoiding going with pushchair  and  large equipment). Also make sure to wear suitable shoes as there are some parts along the path which can become pretty slipper. The gorge is 1.60m long with  a lot of rapids and some small waterfalls. The water is crystal clear and you can see  fish  swimming against the rapids to avoid the waterfalls, in some places you can easily see the bottom of the river bank easily.  It does tempt you to stick your hand in the water, but it is freezing cold.  If you keep walking on till the last low laying parts you can enjoy two nice waterfalls. In winter the gorge is closed and opens  again in May. There is an entrance fee of 5 Euro per adult.  Worth every cent.

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Kranjska Gora

Our last place on the list before we headed to Ljubljana (the capital) was Kranjska Gora. Well known for skiing in winter and activities in summer. During the summer period one can hike, cycle, climbing, sledge (aka mountain coaster) and also do paragliding. The highest point of this mountain is 2864m.  As we were tight on time we decided to get a head start and go up the first part of the mountain using the ski lift. We started walking up the mountain  trail, to learn very soon that walking sticks would have been very useful.  Be warned, at times it gets super steep.  After walking up several KM we enjoyed the lovely views and scenery and started our way  to find the spot where the sledge commences.  The sledging part I must admit was superrr funn :)  you feel like a child again :). The mini car seats have a speed regulator that allows you to control your speed or bring it to a halt.  We also went for a walk around the town of Kranjska Gora, the town was quite quiet, with only a few people out.  There are a number of restaurants and souvenir shops together with a number of sweet shops (sweets shops are rather expensive).

Mountain coaster sledge.

Ljubljana

Our last stop was at the capital city of Ljubljana. this is known as Europe's greenest and most livable capitals. Most areas in Ljublajan cars are restricted from driving. The roads are filled with nice cafeterias  and restaurants. On one of the squares there was also a market set up. The biggest attraction in Ljubljana is the Ljubljana Castle,  which stands on a hill above the Ljubljana downtown. This was a medivial fortress. For any tourists even those less fanatics of history I do suggest a visit to this castle.  Restaurants and cafeterias are slightly more expensive in Ljubljana.  There are also all sorts of shops.

Slovenia was an amazing country,  mountains, rivers and lakes everywhere. Even while driving on highways its a 360 degrees mountain view. The towns have a lot of charm and people are  quite nice. If you can speak Italian you have no problem in communicating with the locals and some of them can speak English too.

In summary here are the places we visited:

• Lake bled
• Lake bohinj
• Krizna cave
• Bovec
• Slap peričnik
• Soča 
• Savica waterfall
• Vintgar gorge
• Kranjska gora
• Slovenia

Slovenia is an amazing country, have any of you been there and did you visit some other places?