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.
Golica, 1,835 m, the Karavanke Alps
Golica is often called the “mountain of daffodils”, and for a good reason; in late spring, the long scenic slopes get covered with wild blooming narcissi! The land erupts in carpets of wild flowers which turn the whole area into a rare spectacle of nature. The sweetest fragrances of the delicate white flowers fill the air, birds sing their loveliest songs and countless bees and little bugs happily move around from flower to flower adding to the spring tunes of Golica. It’s truly amazing.
From 15th May to 15th June we took six groups of avid hikers to Golica and saw a breathtaking transformation from the brownish slopes, sporadically adorned with flowering heather and remaining patches of snow, to rich green blooming fields bursting with life.
Exploring Slovenia’s best spring hikes:
Flower hike on Golica
Velika Planina and crocuses
Goli Vrh above Jezersko
Roblek, 1,657 m, the Karavanke Alps
Looking back, it’s hard to believe that just two months ago in mid April we were still hiking in complete winter with deep snow! The tour was actually scheduled for Mrežce, one of the most scenic peaks above Pokljuka, but after a few days of intense snowfall – altogether between 80 – 120 cm of fresh snow in the Julian Alps! – we opted for the much safer and gorgeous Roblek Hut in the Karavanke instead.
With almost a thousand-meter ascent and the trail winding up in the forest, Roblek is always a great choice and is considered a safe one in the harshest winter conditions as well. The hut is situated at 1,657 m about an hour to the top of 2,060-m Mt. Begunjščica, one of the most prominent peaks in the Karavanke mountain range (and beautifully seen from Bled!), while overlooking Mt. Stol, the highest peak of the Karavanke.
Exploring Slovenia’s best lakeview mountain hikes:
Dreamy lakeview Jerebica
Krn Lakes above Soča Valley
Triglav Lakes – Double Lake
7 Triglav Lakes Trek
Mostnica Gorge and Waterfall
Following weeks of abundant rainfall it was a true pleasure to take a group from the Emirates hiking along the Mostnica, an Alpine river that comes bustling down the Bohinj mountains, creating a display of smaller waterfalls, pools of crystal-clear water and rapids. The trail follows the river first through a forest, where we dipped our feet into the cold water and tried to spot large rock formations interestingly shaped by the rapids. Later on, the trail turns into a beautiful open hike across open fields, surrounded by steep walls and incredible vistas. The trail in the Voje Valley ends with the twenty-meter Mostnica waterfall, a powerful water-rich creation hugged by rocks and the forest.
Velika Planina, the Kamnik-Savinja Alps
It’s easy to forget about time when you stroll through these open meadows, wild flowers shimmering in the morning breeze and traditional wooden huts scattered along the trail. Velika Planina, a high Alpine plateau on the Kamnik-Savinja Alps’ southern rim just 30 kilometers from Ljubljana, is known not only for its unique shepherds’ settlement, arguably the oldest in Europe that remains active to date, but also for easy trails with gorgeous views of the craggy Alpine peaks.
Every summer cows from the neighboring villages down in the valley come up to Velika Planina to graze in its highland pastures, while the shepherds produce delicious organic dairy goodies to be offered to casual hikers. Unfortunately, at the beginning of June when we visited it, the cows weren’t up yet, nonetheless, Velika Planina had turned beautifully green and colourful after a long winter, and we managed to enjoy a big plate of cottage cheese štruklji. Yum!
Goli Vrh, 1,787 m, and Jezersko, the Kamnik-Savinja Alps
Less than an hour away from Ljubljana, lies Jezersko, a mesmerizing place hidden at the foothills of high mountains. You see it once and you are in love. With activities like cycling, hiking, climbing, Nordic walking, cross-country skiing and sledding, Jezersko is ideal not only for sports enthusiasts but also young families and people with a heartthrob for a pristine landscape and virgin nature. Hit a trail there and it will take you to some unbelievably beautiful places that will quite literally make your jaw drop.
Exploring Slovenia’s best mid mountain hikes:
Goli Vrh above Jezersko
Fairytale hike in Karavanke
Krn Lakes above Soča Valley
Stunning Julian Alps
At the beginning of June I paid my annual visit to a sweet couple at the tourist farm Ancel in Jezersko, and seeing how wonderful the rugged mountains soaring above the idyllic valley looked, I couldn’t help but go for a hike. I selected Goli Vrh, just another jaw-dropping peak in the area. It was a good sweat to reach the top but, oh, so worth it.
Black Lake (Triglav Lakes), the Julian Alps
The seventh of the Triglav Lakes, the 150 m long, 80 m wide and 6 m deep Črno jezero (Eng. Black Lake) is actually the first lake you’ll see coming up from Bohinj Valley and entering the Triglav Lakes Valley. Arguably the most beautiful Alpine valley in Slovenia, the Triglav Lakes Valley extends about eight kilometers from Black Lake at 1,294 m to Jezero pod Vršacem at 1,933 m.
Our group hiked to the Black Lake, enjoyed a picnic at the shore of the lake, and then looped back down passing beautiful view points of the Bohinj mountains, Lake Bohinj and the Komna Hut.
Triglav, 2,864 m, the Julian Alps
To first-time hikers, fresh onlookers, the impression of Triglav is often theatrical: isolation awash with expansive panoramas, vertical walls, and endless routes. The further up you go, the bigger and less tamable it seems. At the beginning of June, a decent snow cap still crowned the peak, while many routes seemed better to be avoided due to the unpredictable late spring snow.
For the ascent of an awesome adventurous family from Croatia, the mountain guides decided it was best to take the well-trodden classic route from Krma Valley with a night over in the Kredarica Hut, the highest hut in Slovenia at 2,515 m. The next morning they woke up early and did the final ascent to the top of Triglav catching a beautiful sunrise.
Here’s how the last ascent of Triglav looked like – many thanks to the excellent guide Marko Prezelj for using his photos.
Exploring Slovenia’s best high mountain hikes:
Dreamy lakeview Jerebica
Triglav viewpoint hike
Stunning Julian Alps hike
Triglav – conquer the highest mountain of Slovenia!
Want to climb Triglav this summer? Climb it with Exploring Slovenia – Triglav from Pokljuka
All I can say is: spring was delightful, now, bring on summer!
Read more on Blog:
Best mountain hikes in Slovenia in summer 2023
Secret gems of the Soča Valley
Fairytale loop hike above Srednji Vrh
Hiking in the Julian Alps among flowers, a lake and stunning views: Jerebica
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