Walking in Slovenia’s Julian Alps
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| Monument to the Partizans of WW2 under Triglav's North Face |
Driving from Ljubljana
Airport towards Bohinj, which was to be our base, I remember commenting on how
green the countryside was and how clean this country appeared. That was on our
first trip in May.
We were
fortunate to return for a longer stay in August and I got the same impression.
Slovenia is a beautiful mountainous country.
Slovene’s are very proud of their mountains, Triglav the
country’s highest mountain (2864m) even appears on the national flag and every
Slovene is expected to climb Triglav at least once during their life!
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| Lake Bohinj and the Monument to Zloterog |
The base for our first
trip was Stara Fuzina near the shore of Lake Bohinj. It was from here in 1778 that three local men set out and
made the first ascent of Triglav.
In May when we made our first visit there was still too much snow to
walk the high peaks safely but the high pastures were clear and full of the
most spectacular spring flowers.
Indeed there was a flower festival happening attracting many visitors on
guided walks into the alpine meadows.
This would be a great time to visit, before it got too hot for some late
spring warmth. The only down side of visiting in May was that many of the huts
were not yet open, during the season they provide a good service in food and
drinks.
The paths are very
well marked with red and white markers and all major junctions are marked with
signposts giving place names and the time it will take to get there.
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| Triglav from the south East |
When we visited again
in August, it was very much hotter with valley temperatures up to 30 degrees
during the day. On this trip
though we planned to spend most of the time up in the high mountains which was
much cooler like a British summer!
At night and early in the morning it did get cold requiring jackets,
hats and gloves.
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| Edelweiss |
We toured around the
Triglav area staying in some of the numerous huts that provide clean though
basic hostel accommodation. The paths we walked were limestone with amazing
Karst features. Often with steep
rocky steps, sometimes with wires and metal steps to help. Ibex were common and although this was
late summer there were still many stunning plants including Edelweiss and the
rare Zois Bellflower (a plant where bees have to drill into the flower to get
at the nectar).
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| Pri Jezeru Hut and Alpine Pasture |
Historically the area
is fascinating too. A country that has been ruled by other nations from Roman
times until recent independence with the dismantling of Yugoslavia. There are
three aspects of their history that I found particularly interesting: the sites
of fortifications and other remnants of the 1
st world war high in
the mountains; examples of forms of cooperative farming dating to the early
1800’s which when the communists took power in the 1940’s were held up as
models of good practice allowing these alpine cooperatives to continue; and the
history of Slovene mountaineering which is remarkable. There are museums to
visit that highlight all three of these subjects.
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| Zois Bellflower |
The walking in this
area is as good as any in the central alps and Slovene culture is geared up to
support walkers with a great network of signed paths and alpine huts. The most difficult aspect is how to get
there as flights are limited and the only low cost airline flying there from
the U.K. is Easyjet flying from Stanstead. Once in Slovenia, public transport is good though if you are planning a hut to hut tour consider getting a taxi to and from your start and finish points.
Mountain House Holidays will be running Hut to Hut walking tours of the
Triglav area in September 2013.
These 7 night full board, fully guided holidays will cost £850. The price includes all transport,
accommodation and food and the services of a fully qualified International
Mountain Leader.
Mike and Jane from Mountain House Holidays are fully qualified International Mountain Leaders. If you or you group would like a Walking Holiday in Slovenia organised at other dates, please contact us to discuss your ideas.
