The adventure is long finished by now, yet I’m still enchanted — completely head over heels. Zgornje Jezersko, at 890 m, an alpine village in the heart of the beautiful Jezersko municipality in the Kamnik–Savinja Alps, inspires with its magic, authentic culture, friendly people, good food, and fairytale-like charm. The water-rich valley, where horses and sheep roam verdant meadows, creeps into vertical walls of high, rocky peaks, while gentle, low-lying green peaks line the length of the valley.
All you need is two days in Jezersko and you’ll fall in love for life. Stay any longer, and it’s likely you won’t want to leave again.
Set in one of Slovenia’s most beautiful locations, on a large alpine plateau called Velika Planina, these comfortable cabins run by Alpine Resorts are only a short hike away from the nearest parking lot or chair lift, and the area offers various hiking options.
As the sun was announcing a new day, coming out shyly from behind the mountains, the old shepherds’ settlement of 64 enchanting oval wooden huts lit up in the most vibrant colors. First, the sun stroked the topmost huts, each inside a cute wooden fence where the cows used to rest after grazing. Then slowly the whole settlement lit up and the first purple spring flowers playfully brightened the freshly green meadows. A glimpse of heaven, I thought.
As the owner of a touring agency and a mountain guide, I feel fortunate to spend so much time exploring Slovenia’s mountains—reaching beautiful, remote places that many people only dream about. Whether it’s a daring ascent of Triglav, Slovenia’s highest peak, wandering through colorful meadows in the remote mountains above Jezersko, or a dreamy hike in the hills around Lake Bled—we’ve done it all, and it’s been pretty incredible.
This past summer, Tracey, a wonderful guest from Australia with whom I shared two great via ferratas, asked me whether I ever influence people’s decisions when choosing a tour. Beyond making professional recommendations based on a guest’s skills and experience, I have to admit that I do. To be honest, I often try to weave a bit of my own hiking wishes into the decision-making process—and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. In the end, our guests get to experience the very best places at the best possible time of the season.
When the mountains are in bloom, we choose the most beautiful routes among fragile daffodils, crocuses, wild orchids, gentians, edelweiss, and more. When heavy rainfall fills the enchanting 7 Triglav Lakes to the brim—and sometimes beyond—we happily skip other hikes and head there instead. When it’s time for a breathtaking via ferrata, we climb Mala Mojstrovka; when we’re after something more challenging, we take on the bold ascent of Mangart, the third highest mountain of Slovenia, or the lovely Gradiška Tura, even if it means a longer drive than the more popular routes nearby.
Having explored the Slovenian mountains for decades, I can confidently say that those who have trusted Exploring Slovenia have never been disappointed—biased or not.
To prove that, here are ten highlights of our best mountain hikes and climbs in the summer season 2023. Enjoy!
As the season turns around and we are suddenly faced with high temperatures and lots of hot sun, it’s nice to look back and daydream about the awesome mountain adventures you’ve done in the past months. Due to a colder start of the spring, the nature remained in its snooze mode for a couple of weeks longer this year, but once it finally did wake up, it was freaking insane! I’d never seen so many daffodils in the mountains before, nor had the mid-elevation peaks looked so lush and verdant in early June.
Let’s go through the most memorable mountain hikes in Slovenia (and one awesome climb!) that we explored together this spring.
As we drive close to the Kamnik-Savinja Alps, heavy raindrops slowly dwindle and thick black clouds tear apart offering a peek of the mountains. Velika Planina, a high Alpine plateau on the Alps’ southern rim just 30 kilometers from Ljubljana, had just started to show some greenish hues in its vast brown fields after a long winter, yet in less than two months cows from the neighboring villages will be already grazing in those highland pastures. In April, however, as the snow melts away, Velika Planina is well-known for something else. Carpets of purple crocuses break out every year, turning Velika Planina into a blooming place straight out of a fairy tale!
Close your eyes and listen for a moment. Did you hear loud voices from the road outside? Or a faint rumble of a home appliance? In an ever-louder noisy world of the valley one needs a sporadic retreat to the silent world of amazingly wild and incredibly remote mountains. To lie down in an empty Alpine meadow, bask in the warmth, and daydream to the light symphony of birdsong and distant whistles of a chamois guarding its territory. There is no need for silence but only to become in sync with nature, whose vague silhouette we can barely still recognize in the cities.
Whether you live here or are planning just a short visit, here is a list of the best twelve beginner-to-advanced hikes and climbs in Slovenia I’ve done this summer. Maybe you’ll find an intriguing idea for a bad-ass family outdoor adventure or maybe you’ll head for a romantic getaway high up in the mountains. Either way, while you’re huffing and puffing your way to the top, stop for a bit to reflect and appreciate how divinely different the Alpine world actually is. Serene and tranquil.
Here are twelve beautiful mountain hikes and climbs in Slovenian Alps. Enjoy!
When everything becomes still, the streets empty, the noises die down, the silence becomes overwhelming and I can finally hear it. The winter is here. First snowflakes lightly fill the air and the world turns calm and beautiful. Our hearts fill with joy and our minds with fantasies about our favorite corners of the world turning white. We go to bed in one kind of world and wake up in another quite different.
Fairytale on Velika Planina is everything I love about mountain resorts: it’s remote and isolated, yet still nicely connected to the valley by a cable car or a road that ends only 45 minutes away. It has personality and all the little benefits of any other nice resort in the valley, plus you stay in pristine nature with spectacular views of sunlit mountaintops of the Alps. That’s why I was beyond psyched when the kind folks at Fairytale on Velika Planina invited me up for a few days of snowy trails and jaw-dropping sunrises and sunsets.
And did I mention dogs are allowed? Lisa and her furry buddy Hari were welcome too!
When making my way across the highest peaks of the Kamnik-Savinja Alps at the beginning of August, I looked 1,500 meters down from the top of Mt. Planjava, and played with the idea of returning to the same Alps, only instead of going up from the south I would set my base in the north, in Logar Valley. Interwoven with breathtaking green trails that usually end somewhere way up in the high mountains, beautiful tranquil trails along the Savinja River and countless little wild streams in the broader Solčava Valley, the 7-kilometer long Logar Valley is by far one of the most picture-perfect glacial valleys in Europe. As it turned out, it was indeed perfect for yet another hiking, via-ferrata and flyfishing adventure.
Who would’ve guessed a complete rookie like me would ever catch a fish as big as that, right? Well, my instructor might have added that crucial jerk to the fishing rod, but hey, who was I to argue the relevancy of that jerk once I was holding a huge trout in my hands! ?
Looking at the Kamnik-Savinja Alps, a beautiful mountain range closest to Ljubljana, lit in vibrant early morning colors with veils of fog lingering below rugged peaks, I got an ingenious idea I just couldn’t shake off. In a weekend excursion, I would traverse a good part of the Kamnik-Savinja Alps across the peaks I hadn’t climbed yet! With five out of eleven favored peaks already checked, I was looking forward to climbing another set of five peaks in one go; Ojstrica, Planjava, Turska Gora, Koroška Rinka and Skuta – all mountains above 2 K meters, steep, and on my planned route from east to west.
The Kamnik-Savinja Alps for sunrise as seen from Šmarna Gora
Today’s Stunning Julian Alps tour ♥️ Sunshine, clouds & even a little rain - but the Julian Alps delivered. Impressive Mt. Triglav and other high peaks always in sight. Best moment? Spotting 9 chamois grazing at 2K m.
2 last spots left for 15 May-join us! https://www.exploringslovenia.com/tours/stunning-julian-alps/
