Slovenia As A Great Vacation Location
This region is a world of its own. It is the most varied Slovene territory: it covers a wild alpine world, high snow-capped rocky peaks, deep wild valleys, the karst world with famous caves and other karst phenomena, and the blue Adriatic sea. This is a country of mild Mediterranean and harsh Alpine climates, of noble Lipizzaners, mysterious underground, and a hymn to the mountains.
A holiday or an excursion to the seaside, to the Kras, the land of pršut and Teran autochthonous red wine, or the wild Soča Valley can be so thrilling and joyful that it is always a pleasure to return.
The Trenta Valley
It is from the Vršić saddle, the highest mountain pass in Slovenia, that we can first enjoy the magnificent view of the wild mountain ridges stretching to the south. Deep under the steep, mainly precipitous cliffs, winds the Trenta Valley, the valley that the famous mountaineer dr. Julius Kugy ( 1858 -1944 ) loved so passionately and described so poetically in his works.
The upper, blind part of the valley is called Zadnja Trenta. Scattered all over the valley are typical isolated Trenta homesteads. Trenta is from all sides encompassed by mighty mountains: Mojstrovka ( 2366 m ), Jalovec ( 2654 m ) Prisojnik ( 2547 m ), Razor ( 2601 m ), Planja ( 2453 m ), Goličica ( 2101 m ), Trentarski Pelc ( 2109 m ) and rocky ridge of Veliki Pelc ( 2388 m ).
Under the steep slope of mighty Mojstrovka lies the source of the Soča river ( 916 m ), arguably the most beautiful European river, flowing over gravel down through the narrow valley, sparkling and crystal clear. From the amphitheater surrounded by Prisojnik, Razor, Planja, and Goličica spring the Mlinarica, which right before it throws itself into the Soča runs through a wild gorge.
From the side valley of Zadnjica, a bit further down the Sofia flows the Zadnjica brook. At the confluence of the Soča and the Zadnjica lies the village of Na Logu, the first clustered settlement in the valley and the center of the Trenta where we can find the Trenta Museum. Nearby is the Alpine botanical garden Juliana, designed and set up a century ago by dr. Julius Kugy.
Through the valley of Spodnja Trenta, the road along the Soča brings us to the village of Sofia overlooking the Lepena valley in the south-east. From the Lepena valley lead mountain trails past the Krn and the Komna to Bohinj. Those parts are perfect for long and exciting mountain trips.
Behind the village of Soča, the valley turns west. After the last narrows between Svinjak ( 1637 m ) and Javoršček ( 1549 m ), the valley widens into the Bovec basin.
Although there is only 80 km of air distance between the Soča source and its outfall into the Adriatic sea the landscape is impossibly picturesque and varied. On its short journey, Soča is greeted by deep alpine valleys, green mountain pastures, karst plateaus, and the Italian Friuli plain.
Under Mangart
North of the Bovec basin between Svinjak and Rombon ( 2208 m ) lies the Koritnica valley. Under the Kluže fortification lies the famous up to 60 m deep Koritnica gorge with its ravines. The road leads through the gorge, which used to be protected by the fortress, to Log pod Mangrtom, one of the most beautiful Slovene villages, and to the Predel mountain pass ( 1156 m ) which is also an international border crossing with Italy. About a kilometer before the border, a road branches off and turns steeply up the slope, bringing us to the saddle Mangartsko sedlo ( 2072 ) right under the top of Mangart. It is the highest road in Slovenia. The saddle offers great views of the Julian Alps and the Koritnica valley, lying 1110 meters under an overhanging cliff.
The wilderness of the Trenta, mysterious gorges, unspoiled nature of the Triglav National Park, and arguably the most beautiful European river, the Soča, leave a visitor with an indelible impression. Particular to this clean green river is the Soča trout which grows to unimaginable sizes. It is not so uncommon that a Soča fisherman can boast with a meter-long trout. It is also one of the reasons that make people from far and near return to the magic embrace of the river.
On solitary farmhouses, among the steep slopes of the valley, life was no bed of roses. Today the majority of the idyllic farmhouses are actually weekend-cottages and people from the valley found in tourism an easier way to survive. But due to the harsh weather conditions, the tourist season in the Trenta is limited to the warmest summertime. And even then, mornings are quite fresh, far from expected.
The tunnel leading from Log pod Mangrtom to Italy was made as early as 1903 because of the needs of the lead mine in Rabelj. And high above the valley, Mangart ( 2679 m ) rises steeply to the sky.