Slovenia in spring: from flowers to snow in six hiking trips

There’s that special moment in the year when we get to see two seasons overlap. Lively birds singing, trees blossoming and the first flowers announcing the arrival of warmer spring days down in the valleys. However, higher up in the mountains the strong north winds and freezing temperatures still hold a firm hold over the white mountaintops. The best of spring and winter in the great outdoors is right here, it’s just a matter of us grasping it or not. 

To that extent I’ve been fortunate to walk endless greening meadows speckled with wild marsh tulips, hike along rolling hills carpeted with purple crocuses, and see the trees coming into leaf along a vibrant small gorge. Over a thousand meters higher, on the other hand, I enjoyed snowshoeing in half a meter of fresh snow up to incredible mountain peaks, while also climbing safely to a white peak with views of both Slovenia and Austria. 

Here are five memorable spring hikes in the Slovenian Alps and the hillside close to Ljubljana that I’ve done; some you can do easily with your family and friends, and some are preferably reserved for the more experienced hikers or in company of a certified guide. Either way, enjoy the pictures and the gorgeous first days of spring and the last of winter!

Crocuses bloom every spring on Martinj Vrh

Exploring Slovenia’s best spring hikes:
Flower hike on Golica
Velika Planina and crocuses
Goli Vrh above Jezersko

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Hiking in the Kamnik-Savinja Alps

Beautiful hikes in the Kamnik-Savinja Alps

IN Family hiking , Hiking , Hiking blog , Kamnik-Savinja Alps

I’m at that point in summer where I’m itching for mountains every single moment of the day. Sure, there’s the ever so convenient Šmarna Gora, which I’m happy to live within its walking distance, but sometimes I need more. That said, the past month passed venturing out to the Slovenian Alps as many as six times: Tosc, Triglav Lakes (blog), Bogatin and Triglav Lakes (blog), Mala Ojstrica and Lučki Dedec, Stol, and Goli Vrh. While each hike was special, I’m giving you two of my most memorable adventures in the Kamnik-Savinja Alps of the past month which should be on the bucket list for adventurers like yourself as well (with families and dogs included).

Hiking in the Kamnik-Savinja Alps
The views from Goli Vrh are just amazing!

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Alpine Slovenia, Slovenian Alps, Slovenia, Alps, time-lapse video

Beautiful Alpine Slovenia in a time-lapse video

IN Alps , Hiking blog , Julian Alps , Kamnik-Savinja Alps , Karawanks , time-lapse

I’m proud to announce a short video of spectacular Slovenian Alps. Let me back up. In a nutshell, I’ve been collecting time-lapse videos for the last year and a half while exploring the beautiful Julian Alps and its epic Triglav National Park, Kamnik-Savinja Alps, Karawanks, and Dinaric Alps. Now, I’ve packed my heart and soul into this three-minute video, which combines highlights of my journey on the trail in my home Alps. It’s not been an easy jaunt {oh man, the long waiting at temperatures below freezing and sometimes nasty wind… I get frostbites at the very thought}, but indeed a fulfilling one.
So, here it is, our incredible Alpine Slovenia that manages to stun us on every step of the way. I truly hope you like it!

Don’t be shy to leave a comment, like the video and share it. Thanks! ? Also, if you’re interested in stories from the trail, I’m sure I’ve either written about them here on my Blog, published extensive photo albums on Facebook, or selected the most beautiful photos for Instagram.
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Triglav for sunrise

Up to Triglav over its North Face and down to the Krma Valley

IN Adventure , Climbing blog , Hiking , Hiking blog , Julian Alps

Let us know if you’d love to climb Triglav over Prag Route yourself or combine Mt. Rjavina and Triglav in one tour,

There’s certain allure of climbing Slovenia’s highest mountain, particularly over its grand Triglav North Face, a 3-km wide and 1-km high vertical face with paint blazes marking only a few of about a hundred, mostly alpine routes to Triglav. Our small group of four ventured out there the last weekend in June only to return with incredible stories to tell and even more amazing pictures to show. If I had to caption our trip in three words, it would be sun, thunderstorms and fun.

But before I tell the story, let Chris take us up Triglav over the Prag Route. Thanks Chris and Miha for helping create this amazing video!

https://youtu.be/CWelSdQdSLs

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On our way back down from Stenar, we bumped into this carefree Alpine ibex.

Slovenian Alps are so much more than just Triglav: Križ & Stenar

IN Adventure , Alps , Hiking , Hiking blog , Julian Alps , mountaineering

Triglav as seen from below Stenar
It’s been repeated so many times that we’ve all started to believe it. The mantra “you’re not a true Slovene until you’ve conquered Triglav” drives the nation, anyone from small kids to older hikers, to the 2,864m (9,396 ft) mountain, which quite truthfully isn’t by far an easy climb (remember Climbing Triglav: the third try?). The tourists, too, are flooding the mountain, especially during the summer. Truly folks, it’s beautiful, but, quite frankly, there are mountains in Slovenia just as beautiful, if not even more so, without a continuous line of eager climbers winding their way to the top.

Triglav as seen from below Stenar
All pictures are by Exploring Slovenia

 

 

 

Exploring Slovenia’s most popular guided treks:
Triglav Lakes Trek
Triglav Lakes and Soča Valley

Golica and endless fields of daffodils
Gorgeous Mrežce above Bled

At the beginning of July, my usual partner in crime (read: my husband) and I planned a day in the Julian Alps, a 1,700-square-mile (4,400 km²) area full of high mountains, Triglav being the most imposing of them all. While the crowds focus their fascination on the highest peak, we had our hearts set on the mountain range towering just across the Alpine valley Vrata. A goal for the day were Križ and Stenar, two 8,000+ feet panoramic mountains with views considered to be the best over the north face of Triglav. The best part, though, is the booming wildlife which walks the world freely and completely indifferent of their human hiking counterparts. The rumor has it that the local mountain hut keepers feed the chamois and Alpine ibexes, raising them half domesticated and thus particularly friendly to the camera.

On our way back down from Stenar, we bumped into this carefree Alpine ibex.
On our way back down from Stenar, we bumped into this carefree Alpine ibex, who hesitated to retreat even though the three of us came 60 ft from him.

As opposed to other 8K+ Slovenian mountains, Stenar is less technical, but still requires a long approach. If you make the route a day hike, you’re looking at a 4.7-mile roundtrip with 5,600 feet of elevation gain (and loss). When combined with Slovenia’s afternoon summer thunders, you’re really better off with less sleep than being chased off by a thunderstorm.
Hiking to Stenar
Being careful hikers and having had our share of unneeded drama in the mountains, my husband and me set our alarm at 4 am. But from habit, we somehow managed to shut down the annoying buzz and continued to sleep until 6 instead. Aaaaaargh, the panic! After quick morning preparations, we left our house at 6.30 and were at the trailhead at 8. Not perfect to say the least. Still, if the weather stayed nice, there would be enough time to finish the whole route before the dark.
Stenar and Križ. Photo by Exploring Slovenia.
The first couple of hours were the hardest. It’s a steep climb and you keep gaining elevation fast. But it’s not the elevation that’s the killer here; the trick is in the heat. That’s also one of the reasons why an early start would have been smarter. You see, the steep terrain has a south position, thus absorbing as much sunshine as possible. If the trailhead started at the cool 55 °F (13 °C) at 8 in the morning, the south face warmed up to about 80 °F, which combined with its steep slope and windless air required numerous minute breaks in every tiny space of shade we could possibly find.
Hiking to Stenar. Photo by Exploring Slovenia.
That’s also where we met Nina, a soulmate hiker from Bled who I could easily identify with, especially with her explanation of where she was headed “for Bivouac IV or higher if the circumstances allowed”. Let me translate. High mountains in Slovenia are not a place for single hikers and if you’re like me and often can’t find a partner for a hike, you’re bound to smaller goals. We adopted her without hesitation and continued the hike together. As it turned out, she was great company and procured a much needed map which we accidentally forgot at home in the rush morning packing.

Up next: Slovenia in spring: from flowers to snow in six hiking trips
Doing a headstand on Mt. Križ.
When we arrived at Bivouac IV, a small bivouac nestled in the midst of Stenar, Škrlatica, Dolkova Špica and other great mountains, two Czech hikers were already preparing their early lunch in a laid-back atmosphere. We joined them for a chat and snack. While we all communicated in a mix of the Czech-Slovene-English language and vigorous hand waving, it was their hiking boots that told half of their story. Completely worn out, the soles of one of the Czechs’ boots had apparently come off the previous day, but had already been sawn back on with spare laces. Since both had a big thing for Slovenian mountains, they had been to Triglav four times and Bivouac IV and that part of the Alps as many as six times! According to the Slovenian mantra, these two should have earned the premium citizenship to say the least. 🙂Laid-back atmosphere at the Bivouac IV in Julian Alps.
After resting our legs a bit, we headed up for Mt. Križ. Since we’d used a good part of our water in the first sunny section, we welcomed the plentiful water reserves stacked in thick patches of the remaining snow on the way. Anyway, we still had 1,410 ft (430 m) elevation before reaching the top of our first goal.
Headed towards Mt. Križ.
Above Kriški podi and its three lakes, still frozen from the harsh winter in the Alps.
The higher we hiked, the more beautiful it got. Once we reached the top of the ridge, we were excited to see the back of the mountain, the three lakes underneath, still deeply frozen from the harsh winter there in the Alps, and the Pogačnik mountain hut on Kriški Podi.
Near the top of Mt. Križ.
Until this point, everything had been basic hiking spiced with a few more or less deep holes to watch our steps closer. But once near the peak of Mt. Križ, the route changes and gets more technical with a steel cable securing the most exposed parts. The trail climbs over large rocks along an incredibly steep cliff on both sides. It’s truly not that hard, but if you have a soft spot for exposure, you may find the trail to the top of Mt. Križ and then onwards to Mt. Stenar unnerving as one wrong step could potentially lead to a deep fall.
The trail from Križ to Stenar.
The first peak came fast and after a short lunch break we put our helmets back on and headed for the main goal of the day, Mt. Stenar. First, the trail was surprisingly easy, gradually descending down Mt. Križ. We followed the signs along a barely visible trail until … until we got lost. You see, what you might not know about Slovenia is that it usually lacks signs and directions just where you’d need them most. OK, I admit, things have got better over the past decade, but there are still sections with sketchy signs and that trail from Križ to Stenar is definitely one of them.
At the top of Mt. Križ.
At the top of Mt. Križ.
The footsteps we thought were a marked trail soon ended and so we got stuck on an incredibly steep slope made of talus and big rocks with no clear way down. Sure, we could go back, but truly, where’s the thrill in that if the nature offers to test your climbing skills in a big girl’s (and boy’s, of course) playground?! Anyway, we saw the real trail about 300 ft beneath us; we just had to find a safe way across. Picking our way down we climbed in every possible way; first down, then up, afterwards to the right and then again to the left, and so on. Eventually, I found a ledge after which we finally made our way downhill safely on talus. Thankfully, we all crossed in one piece.
Finding a safe way down to the marked trail from Križ to Stenar.

After that, everything seemed trivial. We traversed talus slopes, which in spots were still covered with snow, and then finally began climbing back up again to Mt. Stenar. The most fascinating, though, were the chamois, who elegantly hopped from one rock to another, effortlessly passing all the previously seemingly impassable spots.
Chamois in the Julian Alps.
Chamois in the Julian Alps.

Another hour or so and at 2.30 pm we were proudly standing on our second peak of the day, Mt. Stenar. Knowing that the descent would take a while, we didn’t hesitate long at the top. I did take the time, though, to record this short time lapse of the play of the clouds over Triglav. Hey, did I mention that the view of Triglav and its north face from Stenar was just astounding?
https://youtu.be/EosvXgNfFsM

We picked up our pace, quickly descending towards the Sovatna slope, but then, somewhere in the middle of the way further down, we noticed a big Alpine ibex strolling around one of the very few green patches among the jagged rocks and cliffs speckled with pretty colorful little flowers. We approached him quietly, slowly crawling on our toes while watching him carelessly munch on soft grass. After a while, our furry friend decided it was time to move on, while we treated ourselves to a 20-minute snooze in a meadow of flowers before heading back down to real life.

An Alpine ibex proudly standing before Triglav.
Thankfully, the weather held nicely the whole day. We reached the Aljaž Hut near the parking lot at 6.30 pm, that was just the right time for a refreshing evening drink. Other hikers exchanged interesting stories, a good part of them included Triglav, and we listened, knowing how incredible our trip had been, probably even more so than overcrowded Triglav.

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Looking for a gorgeous tour in the mountains? Exploring Slovenia offers guided hiking and climbing tours!

More amazing mountain hikes in Slovenia:
Twelve mountains adventures in Slovenia you will likely fall in love with
Viewpoints of Lake Bled for a perfect postcard
The most scenic tour to Triglav

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Climbing Triglav from the Planika mountain hut

Climbing Triglav: the third try

IN News

Do you ever have those trips to the same mountain when you continuously fail and need to turn back down over and over again? That was Triglav for us. The otherwise friendly mountain and the pride of every Slovenian can quickly turn an ugly face in less than perfect conditions.
Climbing Triglav on the Slovenska route

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