 Hiking in Slovenia
Slovenia is crisscrossed by countless trails running through unspoilt countryside. The countryside can be reached in just a few minutes' walk from any town. As a result, hiking is very popular both with Slovenes and with foreign visitors.
Slovenia, just a step away
Although Slovenia's total surface area is only around 20,000 km2, it has almost 10,000 km of marked trails through unspoilt countryside.
Most people are attracted first by the high mountain areas: the Julian Alps, the Kamnik and Savinja Alps and the Karavanke range; then come the medium-to-high hills: the Idrija and Cerkno hills, the hills of the Škofja Loka, Polhov Gradec and Posavje areas, and so on. Other possibilities are the Pohorje massif, the rolling hills of Dolenjska and Bela Krajina, and the trails of the Pomurje region – particularly suitable for Nordic walking.
Keen hikers can choose from more demanding and steeper trails in the mountains. Those who prefer easier walks can opt for less demanding trails in the valleys.
The choice of hiking trails in Slovenia is vast and varied:
Mountain trailsSlovenia has over 7,000 km of marked mountain trails, with 165 mountain huts, shelters and bivouacs. These trails can be easy, demanding and also very demanding protected climbing routes (via ferrata).
Trans-Slovenia trailsThe Slovenian Mountain Trail
is the most popular mountain trail among both Slovene and foreign visitors to Slovenia's mountains. It leads from Maribor over hills and mountains to the Adriatic Sea. The Slovenian Mountain Trail is marked with Knafelc blazes – a white point encircled by a red ring – and a small number 1. Via Alpina
The mountains of Slovenia are also part of the Via Alpina, a transversal trail connecting 8 Alpine countries from Monaco to Slovenia. Slovenia is crossed by two parts of the trail: The Red Trail, which lasts 10 days and has 14 stages. The Via Alpina Red Trail crosses the Karst, Nanos, Trnovski Gozd, Porezen, the Julian Alps and over Korensko Sedlo into Austria. The Purple Trail, which lasts 7 days and has 10 stages. The Via Alpina Purple Trail runs through the peaks of the Karavanke range and across Jezersko in the Kamnik-Savinja Alps into Austria. The Via Alpine transversal is marked by square signs bearing the Via Alpina logo.
European Long-Distance Walking Path E6
European Long-Distance Walking Path E6 represents the last section of the European Long-Distance Walking Path and runs from the north to the south of Slovenia. The E6 Path ends by the sea in Strunjan. Walking the entire path takes approximately 20 days. The E6 path is marked by a yellow spot encircled by a red ring and the symbol E6. European Long-Distance Walking Path E7European Long-Distance Walking Path E7 runs across Slovenia in a west–east direction and takes around 30 days to complete. The path continues in Hungary. The E7 path is marked by a yellow spot encircled by a red ring and the symbol E7. The Sub-Alpine TrailThe Sub-Alpine Trail covers almost every part of Slovenia's hill areas and takes you to new and developed hiking centres and to less populated but extremely interesting parts of the sub-Alpine mountains and the hilly Dinaric area of Slovenia. Around 30 days are required to complete the trail. Themed trails and nature parks and trailsThere are over 380 themed trails in Slovenia. Most of them lie within individual tourist destinations or single municipalities. Themed trails take in various cultural and historical sights. They include trails covering the following themes: • First World War, • archaeology, • protected areas, • forest trails, • literary heroes and artists. Nordic walking parks
Slovenia has two Nordic walking parks – one in Šmarješke Toplice and one in the Pomurje area. Features of the parks include marked Nordic walking trails, information boards at various locations, promotional materials and licensed Nordic walking guides. Winter hiking
Slovenia attracts hikers even in winter. In the lower-lying parts of the Karst, Notranjska, Dolenjska, Posavje, Zasavje and Štajerska, Slovenia offers an extensive network of easy hiking trails. For more demanding hikers Slovenia offers trails in the higher-lying parts of the Julian Alps, the Karavanke range and the Kamnik-Savinja Alps. Winter hiking trails are of different levels of difficulty and can be walked with or without snowshoes, with or without tour skis or cross-country skis and with out without a guide.
When to come
While hiking trails in valleys and low mountain areas are open all year round, those in high mountain areas are suitable for visits from April to October, when the majority of mountain huts are open. Specialist hotels and other forms of accommodation for hikers are open all year round.
Guides
You can walk the various trails on your own or hire a trained guide – recommended. Hiking guides are trained mountain and hillwalking guides. There are also specialised guides for protected areas, guides who are also botanists or archaeologists, and guides who specialise in a particular destination. AccommodationHikers can use mountain huts and bivouacs in the hills, while there are also several centres specialising in accommodation for hikers, including hotels, pensions and apartments. These centres are marked with a symbol showing 1 to 5 hikers. Accommodation with the "5 hiker" symbol offers greater comfort and more services, while "1 hiker" accommodation provides for hikers' basic needs.
A register of specialist accommodation is kept by Pohodništvo GIZ.
POHODNIŠTVO GIZ, Hiking Association of Slovenia,
Ljubljanska c. 7,
4260 Bled,
tel. 0038641646566,
e-mail:
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