"Where is Slovenia?"

This is a Slovenian tourism slogan. It’s reminiscent of a controversial slogan Australia once tried: “So where the bloody hell are you?” Australia’s is more memorable but Slovenia’s might last.

Slovenia’s slogan also makes sense. How many non-Europeans could tell you where Slovenia is located? We’d hazard a guess that it’s not too many.

Yet its main neighbours are tourism heavyweights, Italy, Austria and Croatia. And the mighty European Alps sweep through the country as they plunge south to the Adriatic.

It’s not that Slovenia is unknown, it’s just that ambitious vacation itineraries usually only squeeze in a couple of days in Ljubljana and maybe half day in Lake Bled. If they make it to Slovenia at all.

Walkers are more familiar. The forests and mountains of the Julian Alps in north-western Slovenia have long been recognised as prime walking territory. The real cognoscenti also know that Mount Triglav, the highest mountain in the Julian Alps, features on Slovenia’s flag.

Gotta love a country that puts a mountain on its flag!

The Alpe Adria Trail and the Juliana Trail

Of the many notable trails in Slovenia, the headliners are probably the Alpe Adria Trail and the Juliana Trail. The Alpe Adria Trail is a trans-national path. It starts in Austria, cuts a swathe through Slovenia’s Julian Alps, before dropping through north-eastern Italy to the Adriatic Sea. The Slovenian leg runs for about 145 km and includes the most scenic portions of the Julian Alps.

The Juliana Trail is a circular walk designed to combine the Juliana Alps and Slovenia’s two most picturesque lakes, Lake Bled and Lake Bohinj. It’s 330 km in length, so to complete the whole walk in one go is quite an undertaking.

We did a hybrid that will have purists frowning. We plucked out four choice days from the Alpe Adria Trail and then tacked on a couple of days of Juliana Trail walking at Lakes Bled and Bohinj.

Our Alpe Adria Trail walk

We reached Kranjska Gora, the embarkation point for our walk, right at the end of May. We had planned for the following day to be a rest day but the changeable Spring weather was persisting. The following day was forecast to be fine whereas the day after that was heavy rain all day. We’re able to do a switch, turning our rest day into a walking day then sitting out the day that saw 40mm of rain. Phew!

The path from Kranjska Gora leads upwards to Vrisic Pass (1,611m). It’s a decent climb but the track is well graded so altitude gain is steady. Initially, we’re accompanied by Slovenia’s much-loved Soca River. It runs rapidly over a gleaming white rockbase, resulting in hues of pure aquamarine. We soon leave the river and climb into thick forest. Finally, as Vrisic Pass is approached, rocky Dolomites type terrain and views are reached.

Half way up to the Pass you reach the Russian Chapel. This small but exquisite wooden monument commemorates the deaths of Russian POWs who perished in an avalanche in 1916 whilst working on the road to Vrisic Pass. The road that the Russians built is not too far from the trail, but we were unaware of it for most of the walk.

From Vrisic Pass, there’s another few hours’ walk to the mountain hamlet of Trenta. It’s a long but exhilarating day. Hardly anyone on the trail. The predicted rain came towards the end of the day but too late to dampen our day.

Our second walking day was Trenta to Bovec. For almost the whole day, we followed the Soca River. The Soca is often described as Europe’s most attractive river. It’s easy to see why; its colour fluctuates between aquamarine and turquoise. Up here in the Alps, it twists its way through numerous dramatic gorges and waterfalls. We lost count of the number of swing bridges we swayed over.

Next day, the Alpe Adria took us from Bovec to Dreznica. Again we start beside the Soca. There’s some morning sun and we disturb a couple of snakes basking beside the river. That’s rare for Europe! Later we climb up into the elevated Isonzo valley. This is captivating countryside. It feels isolated and remote. There’s a couple of small villages tucked into the rolling hills and forests that look and feel like time has passed them by. Our overnight stop is in one of them, Dreznica. In the hour before Dreznica, the heavens open and there’s an almighty thunderstorm. We shelter in a forest through the worst of it.

Our Dreznica inn is the scene of a Slovenian party. Maybe a 60th; in all the frivolity it’s hard to tell. There’s an accordion in action and we’re treated to a Slovenian sing-a-long. The guests all know the lyrics and don’t hold back.

That evening, the inn’s background music is random 70’s and 80’s English-language pop/rock. We’re taken a-back when Radar Love comes on, given we’d heard it twice the night before in Kranjska Gora! Does Slovenia hold a candle for the Golden Earring classic? Maybe. Written before mobile comm’s, the song’s almost prophetic and who can’t be revved up by that pre-chorus wail “Don’t need no letter at all!!”

Our final day on the Alps Adria Trail was Dreznica to Tolmin. A day of 24 km, with 900m of ascent and 1,200m of descent, so ate all we could at breakfast. It was overcast and threatening from our first step. Intermittent drizzle gradually developed into steady rain, then torrential rain. The mountain streams were high and fast and a couple needed to be waded. Eventually we’re led back down to the Soca. The sun emerges and by Tolmin we’re dry again.

The Juliana Trail

We farewelled the Alpe Adria Trail at Tolmin and transferred to Lake Bohinj where we followed the Juliana Trail between Lake Bohinj and Lake Bled. Bohinj is a tranquil oasis; far quieter and less developed than Bled. The 3 hour circuit walk around the lake is peaceful and provides excellent lake and mountain vistas.  A short detour to the Savica waterfall is well worth the effort

Most people take two days for the walk between Lake Bohinj and Lake Bled. It involves a climb up to the Pokljuka plateau and then a gradual descent to Lake Bled. The Pokljuka plateau area is prime walking territory. There’s some sporadic farming, but it feels pretty remote and the forests are dense. Views of the mighty Julian Alps peaks to the north-west appear regularly.

The last few kilometres into Lake Bled involves some humdrum road-walking, but Lake Bled doesn’t disappoint. The western end, with the well-treed Bled island and its soaring Gothic church, is particularly picturesque and much less busy than the town end. However, the town end has the well-preserved and photogenic Bled castle that provides a bird’s eye view over the whole of the lake.

We’ll remember Slovenia for its forests, mountains, lakes, rivers and wildflowers. Slovenia has more forest vegetation as a proportion of its land area than any other Western European country. In fact, sixty percent of Slovenia is forested. When you’re out amongst it, there’s a sense of timelessness that can be harder to find elsewhere in Europe.

Another of Slovenia’s travel slogans is “I feel Slovenia”. It’s designed to convey that Slovenia delivers emotional experiences. Few walkers would argue with that.