Walking in Slovenia: The Karavanke. Justi Carey
conditions in the mountains are notoriously changeable, and while you may spend your entire holiday in T-shirts and shorts on these mostly south-facing slopes, it is important to carry appropriate equipment and clothing in case of need, especially on a route that takes more than one day. This equipment list is by no means comprehensive but is offered as a guide; obviously you will need to be selective depending on weather conditions and route choice.
CLOTHING
Walking boots that are comfortable, support the ankle and have good mid-soles
Windproof and waterproof jacket
Sunhat or cap
Light gloves
Fleece or warm sweater
Thermal wicking shirts and T-shirts
Long trousers (not jeans) – the kind with zip-off legs to convert them to shorts are particularly useful
Loop-stitched socks
Miscellaneous equipment
Comfortable roomy rucksack
Bivvy bag for emergencies
Water bottle (essential)
Trekking poles (essential once you have tried them!)
Headtorch and batteries
Sunglasses/suncream/lipsalve (essential – limestone reflects like snow)
First aid kit
Map and compass (GPS if you have it)
Whistle
Guidebook
Camera
Binoculars
Passport or identity card
Moist tissues/wet wipes – great if staying in a hut overnight
Using this guide
The walks in this book are of differing standards of difficulty, but most should be accessible to any reasonably fit person with mountain walking experience. Some have sections of scrambling or via ferrata, and this is mentioned in the text where appropriate. Consider the length, grade and description of your chosen walk before setting out.
Each walk starts with a short introduction, giving the highlights and ‘feel’ of the route, and an information box with the start and finish points, distance, grade and height gained and lost, along with an estimation of how long it will take to complete.
Walk information
The distance is given in kilometres and is taken from the relevant sheet map, taking no account of the extra distance walked on steep terrain. Distance becomes less useful in mountain country; on difficult ground it could take many hours to cover a small number of kilometres. Consider the distances in conjunction with the time given in the information box.
The heights gained and lost are also taken from the map and are an approximation only.
Each walk has been given a grade from 1 to 3, to give an indication of length and difficulty as given below. This is necessarily subjective and again is intended as a guide only – it does not correspond directly to international grading systems. Some walks are easier or more difficult than others even within the same grade; any particular points to note are mentioned in individual walks. The grades are as follows:
1 – Mostly on tracks or forest roads, with some height gain and loss but no technical difficulty or very steep ground – although the walk may be long and tiring.
2 – A walk with significant height gain or loss, rough ground and maybe some steep sections with easy scrambling.
3 – A serious, high route, long and strenuous, often exposed and usually with sections of fixed protection such as steel pegs and cables.
The time given for each walk is offered as a guide only, and takes no account of stops to rest, admire the view, take photographs and so on. Usually the timings recorded while researching this guide coincided with those suggested by signposts; in the few instances where this is not the case it says so in the route description.
Language
In order to avoid confusion, the guide uses the language you are likely to see on signs – Slovene when you are in Slovenia, German when you are in Austria. The German names of the main peaks are given in Appendix B.
The summit of Hochobir, showing its steep rocky western aspect (Walk 20)
THE WESTERN KARAVANKE
Introduction
The western part of the Karavanke range is a more or less unbroken ridge forming the border between Slovenia and Austria, from Peč (Tromeja) which is also on the Italian border, to the wonderfully imposing Košuta ridge. In all, 19 walks are described in this part of the book, most of them peaks on the ridge itself. They are accessed from the south, with the exception of Walk 12, which climbs Stol from the northern, Austrian side.
Dovška Baba seen from Golica (Walk 6), with Triglav in the background
Walks 1–5: Accessed from Zgornjesavska dolina (the Upper Sava valley). This long valley divides the Karavanke range from the Julian Alps in the north-west region of Slovenia. It extends 25km from the industrial steel town of Jesenice, about 60km north-west of the capital, Ljubljana, to the ski resort of Kranjska Gora, 250m higher, and beyond to the village of Rateče by the Italian border. There are two main centres with accommodation: Kranjska Gora and Mojstrana.
Kranjska Gora (810m) lies near the head of the Zgornjesavska dolina and is an excellent centre for walking and mountaineering. It is only a few kilometres from both the Italian and Austrian borders. Access is by the main road running from Jesenice, which continues into Italy. Approach from Austria can be made via the Karavanke Tunnel, south-west of Klagenfurt, or via the Korensko sedlo (Wurzenpass, 1077m), a steep road pass over the Karavanke from Villach. There is no train station in Kranjska Gora (the railway closed in 1966 and is now a cycle track), but hourly buses link the resort to the international railway station at Jesenice.
The whole range of tourist accommodation can be found in Kranjska Gora and its immediate surroundings. Likewise there are many eating places, where anything from a quick pizza to a traditional Slovenian meal can be obtained at the usual relatively cheap prices.
The village is centred on the church, and the tourist information centre is close by. There are two small supermarkets, tourist shops and banks, a chemist, health centre and police station. There are also two petrol stations and a motor mechanic.
Mojstrana (640m) is about halfway between Jesenice and Kranjska Gora. It is a large village with good tourist services but is much quieter than busy Kranjska Gora. There are various apartments, rooms and the authors’ own bed and breakfast, as well as a hostel and several places to get food and drink. It has a supermarket, post office and cash machine. Access is by bus or car from the Jesenice–Kranjska Gora road.
Information about the Kranjska Gora area can be found at www.kranjska-gora.si.
Beli potok at Planina pod Golico (Walk 5)
Walks 6–8: These walks are reached from Planina pod Golico, a collection of settlements high above Jesenice with ready access to the hills. Unfortunately, getting up to there is not so easy – there is no bus service so unless you have a car you will need to walk up (described in Walk 5) from the bus stop in Hrušica, a village a couple of kilometres outside Jesenice. There