Trekking in Slovenia - the Slovene High Level Route - Europe

• Location
• Description
• Contents
• Introduction
• Sample Route
• Maps
• Reviews
• Further Reading

Slovenia is only a tiny country, but within its small area lies some of the most varied and beautiful mountain scenery in the whole of Europe. From the stark heights of the Alps, through forested plateaus and rolling hill country scattered with small farmsteads, to the fascinating limestone karst areas, Slovenia has it all. And to explore it, there are thousands of kilometres of waymarked tracks and paths, from wine routes to high mountains via ferratas. The stages described in this book together form the Slovene High Level Route and constitute around 550km of walking that is by turn beautiful, impressive, magnificent and spectacular, and will richly reward all who undertake the journey.

Flying in to Ljubljana International Airport at Brnik, the lofty mountains, the hills with their red-roofed churches, and the villages surrounded by neatly tended fields look as if you could hold them in the palm of your hand. This is a jewel of a land, perfectly poised between the Alps and the sea, invaded from all directions throughout the ages but never overcome, and still retaining a vision of the important things in life that many of us, in today’s busy world, are struggling to find. Once out on the trail, the body relaxes and the mind settles, until the vital things are not lists of urgent tasks to be done, but the beauty of a butterfly on an alpine flower, the sudden startling view as you turn a corner, or the shaft of sunlight shifting through the transparent green of the leaves.

The original concept of the High Level Route was to encourage mountaineers to appreciate the beauty of the Slovene environment, and it certainly offers plenty of opportunity for that. Because of the small size of the country, one of the charms of the route is that from most of the high points along the way, you can see where you have come from and where you are going next. Triglav, the highest mountain in Slovenia at 2864m, can be seen from almost every viewpoint, and by the time you come to climb it, you have the feeling of meeting an old friend.

Slovenia is about the size of Wales, or half the size of Switzerland, and although only about 11 per cent of the land area is covered by high mountains, 90 per cent is higher than 300m above sea level, and the Slovenes proudly count themselves an Alpine nation. Mountains have shaped the country and its culture; its northern and western borders are formed by the Karavanke and the Julian Alps, while agriculture and land use has been dictated by the terrain. With a present-day population of about 2 million centred on Ljubljana, the capital city, there are only a handful of other large towns, the most important being Maribor, Celje and Kranj. Much of the population still lives in villages, which are connected to the main centres by an excellent public transport system.

The Slovenes are immensely proud of their land, and this is evident on even a short visit. Once you have sampled the mountains, the countryside, the old town centres and the easy-going way of life, you will want to return again and again.

Landscape and Geology

Slovenia is one of the most mountainous countries in Europe. As a result, the Slovene High Level Route can wander across the length and breadth of Slovenia, linking several mountain ranges and hill regions, and stay up high for many days at a time.

In spite of its small size, there are several distinct geographical regions in Slovenia: the Alpine area, including the Julian Alps, the Kamnik-Savinja Alps, Pohorje and the Karavanke; the foothills (pre-Alps) to the south of the Alps; the karst area, south of Ljubljana towards the Italian border; the short coastline; and a small area of flat Pannonian plain to the northeast, near the border with Hungary.

Geologically, most of Slovenia is composed of limestone. The term karst, derived from the Slovene word kras, is used all over the world to describe limestone formations, and includes such features as deep, steep-sided gorges and dry valleys, sinkholes, springs, water-dissolved caves and tunnels underground, and water-eroded surface rocks resulting in the formation of limestone pavement, all of which are encountered in abundance along the route.

The main characteristic of limestone, with dramatic effect on the landscape, is its porous nature, which allows water to sink directly into the rock. This means that there is relatively little surface water in the form of streams or lakes. There are several intermittent or periodic lakes, which come and go throughout the year, the largest of these being Cerknica, south of Ljubljana, which can reach up to 40km2 in area. Rivers and lakes are linked below ground level by incredibly complex systems of caves and channels, many of which are still not fully explored. There are over 7000 caves in Slovenia, with more still being discovered each year, and several cave systems are known to be well over 1000m deep.