Hiking through a lovely, hilly landscape, largely unexplored by tourists in the company of a local guide who is also a biologist with an excellent knowledge of the local flora and fauna. If this is what you like, then we have the right tour for you!
Cerknica (near Postojna)
We visit a different area each day. Shortly after breakfast, we depart from the accommodation. Slovenia is a small country, so our driving time is limited to 1-2 hours most of the days. At each destination, we stop close to the sites which we intend to visit, to maximise the time we spend in nature. We have lunch in the field (picnic), for this, we take everything we need with us in the van. Dinner is planned around 18.30 h.
Please note that taking any plants from nature is not permitted during this tour.
In Southern Slovenia, water is a precious commodity. During our hikes, we will see how the availability of water, and the lack of it, dictates the life of plants, and animals, as well as the human inhabitants. Entirely in style, we start our tour at a water basin, in the middle of a village. The landscape changes when we go further from the village until we reach a very different kind of water: a lovely meandering stream which flows along flower-rich meadows!
Today’s hike appears to have more to do with the absence of water: we go to a mountaintop. We start our hike in the middle of the forest and climb up to the top of mount Snežnik. With an altitude of 1800 meter, the »Snow Peak« is the highest Slovenian mountain outside of the Alps. On the way up, we see the landscape changing. Trees become smaller and hive way to low mountain pines. On the top itself, there is just a short herbaceous vegetation, full of flowers. Only from here, we can again see water: far away the Adriatic sea is glittering in the sunlight. Interestingly enough, the entire mountain is made of limestone, which is formed by ancient deposits from the bottom of the see. If we are lucky, we may find a fossil sea-shell right on the top of the mountain!
In Rakov Škocjan the familiar above-ground landscape joins the mysterious underground in a most spectacular way! An underground river formed huge caves, which became so big, that eventually, their ceiling collapsed! This process, which continues today, resulted in a fantastic landscape with caves, springs and spectacular limestone bridges. This is a place of contrasts, and at other places, the river flows quietly between small forest meadows, where we can enjoy a picknick in the sun.
Moderate: expect to hike 10-15 km on each day. We go uphill and downhill, largely on unpaved roads and trails.
The accommodation depends on availability and will be in a tourist farm (agriturism) or comparable.
For this tour, it is expected that participants will have their own transport. However, we can also take up to three participants in the car of the guide without added costs. For larger groups, we can arrange a van, which is driven by the guide. However, this van is not included in the price.
