Mountains in Slovenia

This small country has some of the most picturesque alpine wonderlands in whole Europe. Mountains in Slovenia includes the ranges of the Julian Alps in the northwestern nook with Triglav being Slovenia's highest peak (2864 m). The Karavanke Alps form the border between Austria and Slovenia. South of the Karavanke Alps ridges of the Kamnik-Savinja Alps soar toward the sky.

The wild and diverse mountain landscape of Slovenia will stole the breath of every visitor. No matter in which season I go, the Slovene alps always dazzle me with its unique versatility that I can only find in this country:

• The green patches of forest in the lower altitudes soften the grimness of the snow-capped peaks.

• Unbridled alpine streams and rivers like the Soca or the Sava wind their ways through rocks and valleys occasionally taking a bounce down from a cliff in form of waterfalls

• colourful wildflowers dot the meadows and valleys making you want to pick a bunch of them (though most of them are protected and they belong to their natural habitat anyway than in a vase)

• the snowy slopes come alive in winter with skiers gliding down gracefully in the numerous well-maintained winter resorts.

The above three mountain ranges are all made up of soluble limestone and dolomite from which rain and watercourses carved out caverns and developed karst forms. During hiking or canyoning you will encounter with these peculiar formations.

Mountains of Slovenia belong to the lower ranges of the European Alps which make them more alive with an abundance of alpine plants and animals. With a bit of luck you might catch a glipmse of chamois, marmot or ibex.

Two lakeside resorts Lake Bled and Lake Bohinj in the Triglav National Park provide an excellent base for exploring alpine Slovenia.

Numerous hiking trails and passes net Slovenia's mountain world with welcoming alpine cottages and huts along them and you can also access hills by car or train. Read more about hiking in Slovenia.

From the spacious plateaus like the Pokljuka you can contemplate the beautiful world around you.

Tip: The Via Alpina hiking trail opened in 2005 links numerous paths zigzagging the Alps. On the red and purple trails of this route you can explore the Julian Alps, the Kamnik-savinja Alps and Karavanke range.

Julian Alps

The Julian Alps are the largest mountain area of Slovenia the most part of which belongs to the Triglav National Park. Under its highest peak the Mount Triglav the stertches Triglav glacier wich has shrunk considerably in recent decades. There's so much to tell about the Julian Alps that we dedicated a separate page to it.

Kamnik-Savinja Alps (or Kamniske-Savinjske Alps)

Town Kamnik and river Sava gave the name to Slovenia's second most extensive mountain area the Kamnik Alps which has many peaks with altitudes above 2000 m like Grintovec (2558 m), Jezerska Kocna (2540 m), or Skuta (2532 m).

In summer cows graze peacefully on the Velika Planina plateau (1500-1600 m) while in winter ski lifts transport winter sport lovers up the slopes. You can get to the plateau from the north by lift from the Kamnik-Bistrica valley up to the 1666 m high Gradisce peak or you can drive up to 1000 m by car. From time to time you'll see examples of alpine folk architecture like a wooden chapel or huts that snuggled in the luscious green valleys surrounded by thick pine forrest. A glacier formed the Logarska dolina valley a nature park that has 20 waterfalls alone like the Rinka or Planek. The valley has three parts the lower area Log, and the central section Past, are mainly meadows while forests cover large portions of the upper part.

The Karavanke Alps

The Karavanke Alps stretches between Slovenia and Austria on 120 km which makes it one of the longest mountain ranges in Europe. Between Jesenice town and Rosenbach in Austria runs the nearly 8 km long Karavanke tunnel built in 1906 and there's also a motorway (7.8 km) tunnel finished in 1991. Peaks come after each other like giant saw-tooth, thetwo highest summits Stol (2236 m) and Kepa (2143 m) rise on the western part. Important passes cut through the mighty mountain range like the Ljubelj pass (1369 m m) or Jezerski vrh (1218 m). Deciduous trees cover the lower walleys followed by pine trees, larch, beech, dwarf pine , alpine meadows in higher altitudes.

In spring (towards the end of May) fragrant mountain daffodils, yellow and red orchids turn the pastures into colourful carpets. In June you may find the largest European orchid Cypripedium calceolus aka Venus orchid (or Lady's slipper) between Belca valley and Ljubelj. The Karavanke Alps are just perfect for hiking, trekking, skiing because well-tended amd marked paths lead to almost all peaks. See more tips on Active Holidays in Slovenia.

Mount Nanos

Related Pages

Some parts of Slovenia's mountain areas are very good hunting areas. Read more about hunting in Slovenia.

The crystal clear alpine rivers and lakes are perfect fishing grounds. Read more about fishing in Slovenia.

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