Slovenia mountain trail

It begins in Maribor and crosses the plateaus of the Pohorje Hills, from where you already have a glimpse of the tallest Alpine summits in the distance. The trail first enters the Alps in the Kamnik and Savinja Alpine range, as it runs across its highest peaks, and then the trail continues along the long Karavanke range, which separates Slovenia from Austria. From there, it again descends into the valley and soon rises into the heart of the Julian Alps, to Mount Triglav and the steepest peaks, with breathtaking views following one after another as the trail approaches the Adriatic sea.

The Slovenian Mountain Trail ends at Debeli Rtič on the Adriatic coast and connects 49 mountain huts, 23 peaks, and 5 towns. It is well marked with Knafelc blazes and the number 1. THow much time will you need to walk this trail? It can be walked in 28 days, and some of the best mountain runners even run along it. The record is seven days, eight hours, and ten minutes.

On the Slovenian Mountain Trail – in brief (adapted by Borut Peršolja as recorded by Janez Černilec)

The Slovenian Mountain Trail begins in Radvanje near Maribor (270 m) where it ascends to Pohorje, a 60-kilometre mountain chain with the highest point at Črni vrh (1,543 m), and numerous mountain huts and ski tows. In the west, the trail descends to Slovenj Gradec (420 m) and then ascends to Carinthian monadnock, Uršlja gora (1,699 m). From here, the trail continues over Smrekovec (1,577 m) and Komen (1,684 m) to Raduha (2,062 m) and past Bukovnik (1,327 m), the highest farm in Slovenia, then descends to Solčava (642 m) in the Upper Savinja Valley. Through the picturesque Robanov Kot Landscape Park, the trail approaches the foothills of high mountains for the first time. From Molička planina (1,780 m), with the second oldest Slovenian mountain hut, now renovated, named after Fran Kocbek, the trail ascends via Korošica (1,808 m) to Ojstrica (2,350 m), our second most beautiful mountain. The trail continues to Planjava (2,394 m) and from Kamniško sedlo (1,864 m) to Brana (2,252 m), Turska gora (2,251 m), Skuta (2,532 m) and past Kokrško sedlo (1,793 m) to Grintovec (2,558 m), the highest peak in the Kamnik-Savinja Alps. Via Kočna (2,540 m) and Češka koča mountain hut at Spodnje Ravne (1,542 m), the trail descends to Zgornje Jezersko (880 m), which used to be known as a health resort.

The trail continues to Storžič (2,132 m) with magnificent views and descends via Tolsti vrh (1,715 m) and Kriška gora (1,471 m) to Tržič (515 m), which was once an important industrial town. It then ascends to Dobrča (1,634 m) and past Roblekov dom mountain hut (1,657 m) to Begunjščica (2,060 m) and Stol (2,236 m), the highest peak in the Karavanke, which bears an inscription in Slovenian and German: ‘The mountains of friendship’. The trail continues below the ridge along high mountains to Golica (1,835 m) below which lie extensive meadows famed for their daffodils.

After descending into the valley, the trail leads to Dovje (704 m), where the priest Jakob Aljaž, author of the mountaineering anthem ‘Oj, Triglav, moj dom’ (Oh, Triglav, My Home), worked for many years. From Mojstrana (641 m), home of the Slovenian Alpine Museum, the trail continues through the valley of Vrata past Peričnik waterfall to Aljažev dom mountain hut (1,015 m). A steep trail goes via the remarkable Triglav north wall to Kredarica (2,515 m) with the highest mountain hut in Slovenia and on to Triglav (2,864 m), the highest peak and a symbol of Slovenia, where Aljaž Tower is situated. Via Kriški podi (2,050 m) with high mountain lakes, Razor (2,601 m) and Prisank (2,547 m), the trail continues to Vršič (1,611 m), a mountain pass between the Gorenjska region and Trenta with five mountain huts. The trail to Jalovec (2,645 m), according to many the most beautiful Slovenian mountain, whose image is also in the coat-of-arms of the Alpine Association of Slovenia, is easy at first, but extremely challenging in the final section.

The trail then descends into the valley of Trenta with the spring of the Soča River, Slovenia’s most beautiful river. Through Zadnjica, the trail again ascends to Prehodavce (2,071 m) and into the Triglav Lakes Valley or the Valley of the Seven Lakes (1,685 m). The present Triglav National Park has its origins here. From Komna (1,520 m) and along the Krn Lakes (1,385 m), the trail ascends to Krn (2,244 m) which offers beautiful views. The trail continues along the northern slope of the Lower Bohinj Mountains from Vogel (1,922 m) to Črna prst (1,844 m), below which a new mountain hut was built recently at the site of the former oldest Slovenian mountain hut, the Orožen hut. The trail continues to the Cerkljansko and Idrijsko Hills to Idrija (325 m), which once boasted the second largest mercury mine in the world.

From Trnovski gozd and Javornik (1,240 m) further to Nanos (1,313 m) and via Vremščica (1,027 m) to Slavnik (1,028 m), the last 1,000-metre mountain on the trail. It is not far now to the Adriatic Sea, where the Slovenian Mountain Trail ends in Ankaran (8 m).