Walk 2 Trupejevo poldne and Vošca
Walk 3 Kepa
Walk 4 Dovška Baba
Walk 5 Hrušica to Planina pod Golico
Walk 6 Golica
Walk 7 Hruški vrh and Klek
Walk 8 Dovška Baba to Planina pod Golico
Walk 9 Ajdna
Walk 10 Stol
Walk 11 Vajnež
Walk 12 Stol from Austria
Walk 13 Dobrča
Walk 14 Preval
Walk 15 Begunjščica
Walk 16 Vrtača
Walk 17 The Ljubelj Pass
Walk 18 Košutica
Walk 19 Košuta
Walk 20 Hochobir (Ojstrc)
Walk 21 Olševa
Walk 22 Peca
Walk 23 Uršlja gora (Plešivec)
Appendix A Walk summary table
Appendix B Key names in German
Appendix C Glossary
Appendix D Useful contacts
Appendix E Further reading
Viewpoint at Kamnik (Walk 19)
INTRODUCTION
Imagine the Alps as they used to be: grassy meadows full of flowers, flocks of animals swinging sweet-sounding bells around their necks, old wooden herders’ buildings, enticing trails with almost no-one on them, spectacular views in all directions, huts welcoming you to eat and drink with the locals. No commercialism, no main roads, no huge ski resorts marring the landscape. This idyllic vision is, more or less, that of the Karavanke range today. For decades a sensitive border area, where even the local hunters and mushroom-pickers needed a licence to visit, the Karavanke range remains possibly one of the last unspoilt areas in the whole of the Alps. Visitors to Slovenia usually rush to the much better known Julian Alps, leaving these gems of mountains almost untouched.
This book will provide you with a taster of the Karavanke. The 23 walks described here cover all the main peaks along the full length of the range, which between them offer spectacular views, caves where Stone Age remains have been found, high pastures where cows, sheep and horses graze together in harmony, slopes so carpeted with flowers that the mountain appears covered with snow, airy ridges, shady forests and empty summits. You will discover that the range is more complex than it looks or appears from the map, a place where the views spread out without warning as you round a corner, or you suddenly emerge from the trees into open meadows where time seems to have stopped.
Dovška Baba and Kepa seen from Golica (Walk 6)
The Karavanke form the border between Slovenia and Austria with a total length of about 120km, making it one of the longest mountain ranges in Europe. It divides naturally into two sections: the Western Karavanke, as far as the Košuta ridge, is more or less a single unbroken ridge, while the Eastern Karavanke are split into several massifs. The typical pattern all along the range is of precipitous rocky faces to the northern, Austrian side, while to the southern, Slovene side there are steep grassy slopes and terraces. The ridges offer outstanding views in both directions: to the north lies the Austrian region of Kärnten, famed for its lakes and more rounded mountains, while to the south the Julian Alps drop their stark faces to the valleys; the contrast between them is part of the charm. Further east along the range views of the whole of Slovenia open up, across the Gorenjska plain to the capital, Ljubljana, and beyond to Snežnik, the ‘snowy one’, standing alone not far from the Adriatic coast.
In spite of its modern cities and excellent transport networks Slovenia still has an air of the past, when the pace of life was slower. Slovenes keep close contact with their families and their land; in some cases the same family has worked the land for hundreds of years. Much of the population still lives in villages, where almost every house has its vegetable patch; even in the cities allotments are common. The country, independent from Yugoslavia since 1991, is about the size of Wales, or half the size of Switzerland, and although only about 11% of the land area is covered by high mountains, 90% is higher than 300m above sea level, and the Slovenes proudly count themselves an Alpine nation. With a present-day population of about 2 million centred on Ljubljana, the capital city, there are only a handful of other large towns, the most important being Maribor, Celje and Kranj. Mountains have shaped the country and its culture, and it is common to see whole families out walking together, such is the Slovenes’ enthusiasm for the outdoors.
Slovenia may be only a tiny country, but within its small area lies some of the most varied and beautiful mountain scenery in the whole of Europe. From the stark heights of the Alps, through forested plateaux and rolling hill country scattered with small farmsteads, to the fascinating limestone karst areas, Slovenia has it all. This book will hopefully entice you to explore further; once you have sampled the mountains, the countryside, the old town centres and the easy-going way of life, you will want to return again and again.
Landscape and geology
Slovenia is one of the most mountainous countries in Europe and also one of the most forested, with over half the country having tree cover. In spite of its small size there are several distinct geographical regions: the Alpine area, including the Julian Alps, the Kamnik-Savinja Alps, Pohorje and the Karavanke; the foothills to the south of the Alps; the karst area south of Ljubljana towards the Italian border; the short coastline; and the flat Pannonian plain to the north-east near the border with Hungary.
Geologically, most of Slovenia, including the Karavanke, is composed of limestone. The term ‘karst’, derived from the Slovene word kras, is used all over the world to describe limestone formations, and includes such typical features as deep, steep-sided gorges and dry valleys, sinkholes, springs, water-dissolved caves and tunnels underground, and water-eroded surface rocks resulting in the formation of limestone pavements. Many of these can be seen in the Karavanke range. Glaciation has also contributed to the characteristic mountain landscape.
Looking east from the summit of Vajnež, showing the much steeper faces on the northern, Austrian side (Walk 11)
Besides limestones, other rocks in the Karavanke include conglomerates and breccias, shale and mudstone. Many Karavanke rocks are rich in fossils and contain iron ore, on which the whole economy of the region was once based. Look up (or down!) at the red-coloured rocks and soil to see the evidence of the iron to this day. It was mined in the Karavanke hills and with plentiful wood and fast-flowing mountain streams for energy, the forges thrived. The town of Jesenice developed on the back of the iron and steel industry and, although iron is no longer mined here, the steel factory of Acroni is still one of the region’s biggest employers. In other areas of the Karavanke, mercury, lead and zinc were also mined in the past.
Climate and weather
Slovenia’s position in Central Europe means that, in spite of its small size, it has three distinct climatic zones: a Mediterranean climate by the coast,