It’s been a crazy year and an even crazier season, hiking and climbing in the beautiful Slovenian mountains. We’ve hit that dusty, muddy and even snowy trail countless times and have seen anything from the big elusive ibexes, mesmerizing sunrises and sunsets, to the cutest playful marmots. We’ve sweated together on steep slopes, tried to escape big thunderstorms, dipped into the freezing cold Soča river, enjoyed exposed climbs, and listened to relaxing music on our rides to the mountains. Those short moments together truly connected us into unique friendships.
It’s not easy to pick my personal favorite mountain tours of 2024, especially since grading cannot be based solely on the trails and beauty of the views, but also on quite coincidental factors like the weather, hut life, sparks within the groups, food and other well-being factors. All in all, of all incredible hikes and climbs we’ve shared, here are Exploring Slovenia’s five best mountain trips of 2024!
1. The Karavanke Alps Traverse
You’d be surprised by how deeply this 5-day trek that we did back in July touched me. The trek itself was perfect. On the first day we hiked up to Mt. Stol, wowed at the most spectacular sunset right at the highest peak of the Karavanke Alps while literally hugging a bunch of nosy sheep. Over the next two days we followed the scenic ridge of the Karavanke Alps, lush tall delicately smelling flowers, for more than thirty kilometers. On the way we stopped to pet grazing animals, enjoyed a delicious lunch at a friendly shepherds’ farm and spent another night in a cute mountain hut, where a cheerful hut keeper entertained the guests by playing the accordion. In the afternoon of the third day we descended to a small alpine town where we enjoyed good food and two comfortable nights. During the day, we tackled a daring via ferrata high up in the mountains and finished off the 5-day trek with yet another insanely beautiful hike in the Karavanke Alps.
Yet, I’d walked those trails many times before but never have I enjoyed them so much. The July group was just plain amazing!
2. Bovški Gamsovec Climb
With years of work as a mountain guide I’ve seen way better weather conditions in the Bovški Gamsovec area, an incredibly picturesque part of the Julian Alps, yet even rain and fog can’t disappoint here. Wildlife, mind-blowing views, a great climb, a cute hut and emerald green alpine lakes, Bovški Gamsovec truly has it all. Once I’ve described it as the land of the alpine ibex, and luckily over the years the growing recognition of the Slovenian mountains still hasn’t overwhelmed this place as much as to push the awe-inspiring long-horned animals away from their rocky territory under the massive walls of Bovški Gamsovec.
We headed there for two days in early September. As we sweated our way up an agonizingly steep trail in light rain, our group-proclaimed wildlife spotter Damjana kept pointing at ibexes which didn’t seem to be bothered by our presence. We must’ve seen at least nine by the time we walked into the hut and the thick fog swallowed the mountainous world outside. Once in the hut, we spent the rest of the day playing cards, solving puzzles, sharing daring hiking stories and joking with other hikers while peeping through the window at what seemed impossible weather. To anyone’s surprise, hut life can be pretty amazingly cozy!
The next morning brought a turn in the weather and everyone came out to soak up views of the surrounding mountains and Križ lakes at a vibrant sunrise. Even a flock of sheep looked cheerful as they followed us, signalling they would appreciate the apple I happened to have. By all means, the most persistent one got it.
After breakfast we headed out to climb the peak of Bovški Gamsovec with Damjana relentlessly spotting new and new ibexes. Up to the point that no one else in the group cared anymore. As always, the climb to the 2,392-meter peak was incredible and, most of all, we found ourselves completely mesmerized by the theatrical views of Mt. Triglav and its 3-km-long and a kilometer high North Face, which seemed just a stone’s throw away.
3. The Kočevje area and the Koča Studeno Cottage
There are no big mountains in the Kočevje area, only hills and forests as far as the eye can see. Every trail feels remote, the forests greener than anywhere you’d walked before and you’re more likely to be greeted by a wild animal than a human being. Expecting momentous encounters as the area boasts the largest number of brown bears in Slovenia, I hiked with my loyal companion – bear spray, but ended up seeing no bears but two large red deer, lots of regular deer and a chamois.
I settled in an old rustic cottage called Koča Studeno, which happened to be located in a forest a few kilometers from an asphalt road but gave out vibes of actually being in the middle of nowhere. It sort of was. The first house (also being the only neighboring house) was a few kilometers away, the rest was pure wilderness. It was perfect. I spent my mornings and evenings in a daisy-speckled meadow chilling outside the cottage, reading, eating or just breathing in the fresh air. The cottage owner, a sweet man who has been following his passions of turning their old family house into a warm rustic homestay, welcomed us with creamy local yoghurt, deer salami, bread and dessert; a welcome relief at the start of our four-day adventure in the Kočevje area.
Every day I let myself go completely wild hiking along unknown trails that ended at gorgeous viewpoints, exploring the Unesco protected pristine forest Krokar and the cliffs of Loška Stena, lakes, caves, and roaming the fragrant forests of the Kočevje area where wild garlic blossomed in abundance. Heck, I even entered a tiny coffee shop, where a bunch of local men already bantered over a morning beer, and joined them for a drink and chat. Juice for me though. With everyone friendly and the nature so lush and vibrant, I’d never felt more accepted in a new place than right there.
If I came to the Kočevje area feeling a bit lost after finishing a 6-year relationship the month prior, this extraordinary place helped me successfully rebalance my very core, and I found myself bursting with positive life energy once again as I was leaving it four days later.
4. From Bohinj to Soča Valley Trek
Going on an adventure, you need difficulties and challenges. The best hikes come hand in hand with a certain degree of exhaustion and dehydration, and if that’s not an option, it can hardly be called an adventure. Ascending more than 2,000 meters over forested and scenic mountains, passing alpine meadows and lakes, while the trail even climbs over a rocky 2,244-meter peak, the first two days of this breathtaking 3-day trek can be quite ambitious, and, according to what I used to believe, not likely for the less fit hikers. By having added two easier alternatives to the mountain part of the trek this year, I’m happy to say I was wrong. It does remain a sizeable adventure for the less prepared hikers, yet not an impossible one.
This summer, we managed to successfully finish quite a few treks From Bohinj to the Soča Valley with hikers of various levels of fitness; anyone from marathon runners, fit mountain hikers, to averagely fit city dwellers. Moreover, we also had an amazing trek with a man who described himself as “not fit”. With his wit and traveling experience he turned out to be a great addition to the otherwise very fit group and managed to enjoy a less strenuous version of the mountain trek but then merged with the rest of the group for the last day in the Soča Valley.
5. Seven Triglav Lakes Trek
Starting in a forest bursting with life, where we had the privilege to listen to the red stag roaring to call for a mate, and finishing in remote rocky mountains, the diversity of the trail is what distinguishes the Triglav Lakes Trek from any other trek. The trek traverses the remarkable Triglav Lakes Valley, which extends eight kilometers from the 1,294-m elevation above Lake Bohinj, where the first lake lies hidden in a verdant forest, all the way to the 1,933-m elevation with the highest lake, Jezero pod Vršacem, snuggly planted underneath remote towering mountains. Over three days hiking one passes alpine meadows, old shepherds’ cottages, and gorgeous lakes, while seeing the vegetation change from lush green to lower pines and eventually to sporadic patches of grass and flowers adorning the rugged mountains at 2,000 meters.
Our September group experienced something unique. After a long hot summer, when we eagerly dipped ourselves into (unappealingly) cold rivers and lakes just to keep cool, the weather turned overnight and the mountains received the first snowfall of the season. Not just a sprinkle but a nicely thick blanket that stuck around for weeks.
It happened that we hiked to the first hut at the Double Triglav Lakes in gloomy drizzly weather and then woke up the next morning to see the mountains all white. The hike to our second hut at 2,070 m was somewhat interesting in the snow and fog, and after a couple of decks of cards in the hut the thick fog started to break apart with windows of blue skies showing up. They say that the best weather comes after days of lousy ones, and so it did. The sunset that day was pure magic and the next day sunny without a cloud in sight. What a treat to be in such a spectacular place like the Triglav Lakes Valley for the first snow and right as the sun came out!
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