This is without doubt the most important page for you to read on our entire website and it was also the most difficult one for us to write too!

Indeed we could only even contemplate an attempt at capturing it all after living & exploring here for 10 years.

With respect, we think that maybe only a foreigner living here could even notice all the little things that mix & blend together to make Green Slovenia such a fantastic place for us vistors and we will also try to explain why below.. 

The tourist head honchos here are still stuck in the mud a bit using the limited catchphrase "Feel Slovenia".. 

 

But for us, that phrase doesn't even touch the side of the bucket load of senses that will be poured on top of your head like a cold shower when you start exploring Green Slovenia!

So we think SENSE SLOVENIA is the the only way to correctly express in English how ALL your senses will be captured, tickled, tingled and totally tantalized here..

 

SENSE SLOVENIA.. (so easy to showcase the only country in the world with "love" in the middle of the name by highlighting it in a diffo colour)!

It is simply impossible to convey in just words and photos how ALL your senses will be continually massaged ALL together and ALL at the same time on a Green Rollercoaster ride through the Greenest country in Europe.. 

But we will give it a go!

 

You might even only truly notice what happened to you when you get back home.. 

So get your magic stones out, put your John McEnroe headband on and light up the incense candles, cos now, we are now gonna try to explain how this might be the last country left in Europe where you can have such an amazing Green holiday to tickle ALL your senses..

 

See Green Slovenia..

This is the one sense that might have turned on your alarm bells and drawn your attention to Green Slovenia in the first place..

Of the 5 senses, we will start with this one as it will be the easiest to try to convey!

Maybe seeing a magical photo of the church on the island in Lake Bled or the second largest hole in Europe sitting above the gigantic Skocjan cave..

Maybe it was the scene of native white Lipizzaners frolicing in green meadows or a Venetian church tower poking up from terracotta tiled roofs with the azure Mediteranean Sea shimmering in front or maybe was it a medieval castle hanging out of a giant cliff, the likes of which you have never and will never see anywhere else in the world?

 

Well folks, you need to know that when you actually do come here, NO PICTURE can do the beauty of this place justice..

Guests are always telling us Green Slovenia is so much more beautiful than they ever imagined and you really need to see it all with your own eyes..

Of course, you can take a photo, but you just cannot record the incredible panoramas you can see with your own eyes as the Green paradise complely surrounds you!

 

We are proud that pretty much every single photo on this website was taken by us on our many Green Adventures on foot, bike and car..

We make a note if the photo is not ours, for example we were given a few sensational photos of Krizna Cave to show part of the 4 Hour underground rubber boat tour and some really great vistas of Piran..

We also decided to have a special GUEST PHOTOS section, where we encourage our guests to send us their photos from their Slovenian adventures, so YOU can see what our guests are taking photos of here!

 

Green Slovenia is incredibubbly, ridiculously photogenic and you will get lots of amazing pics to take home and wow your family and friends..

The Greens here go completely off the colour chart and when you are travelling around, prepare to just enjoy so many scenes that you cannot photograpgh, so you just have to keep inside your head as fond memories..

You see it just isn't possible or sensible to try to take a photo of what you take in with the medium of your eyes when you are driving along the Krka river and seeing chocolate box cottages with sweetcorn hung, drying on wooden racks under barn roofs in rows of chocolate box villages..

 

A photo cannot record that very first time you catch a glimpse of the incredible colour of the most beautiful river in Europe, the Soca, and wonder if it can be real, or when you see a kayak gliding across that turquoise water like a raindrop on a pane of glass..

You simply cannot record the moment of that sharp intake of breath when you see the path lights disappearing so far into the distance inside the Skocjan cave and it slowly dawns on you that down there is where you will walk inside the largest underground hole in Europe.. The true moment, when Mother Nature totally overpowers you!

You can't record the wonder at seeing the little island with the church on top at the end of Lake Bled for the very first time and then just 25 minutes later, the complete shock that there is another even more beautiful Lake Bohinj just down the road, with mountains rising up from the green water like fjords..

 

And no picture ever taken can prepare you for the emotion of hiking 40 minutes from the Lodge along a secret forest track, popping out of the trees and crossing the river bridge  to see the largest cave castle in the world, Predjama, hanging out of a 120m high cliff, still 70m above you!

Don't try to take to take a photo of that shock of walking up the paradise green 1,666m high Big Mountain Meadow (Velika Planina) reaching the flat summit, only to spy a wooden Hobbit village covering the horizon in the distance, surrounded by a panorama of Kamnik Alpine peaks and drawing you towards it like a magnet.

 

In Green Slovenia, another part of the surprise is how well Green nature mixes with the hundreds of castles and Medieval towers and the cute little villages..

A photo cannot show how beautifully Kamen Castle blends into the forest hills and Karavanke mountains as a true gateway into nature or how Otocek Castle nestles perfectly on the stunning little island, perched in the middle of the bottle Green River Krka..

 

This is the only country in Europe where you can see or be reminded of EVERYTHING that is good about Europe and EVERY landscape you might have dreamt about seeing in Europe.. It really is all here!

Yep, we can put some photos here to give you an idea, but we think you realise by now you really do need to see these Green Nuggets with your own eyes!

 

Hear Green Slovenia..

ALL of your senses will be teased and dominated here, but listen up, cos maybe it will be your hearing that is attacked the most by this Green paradise..

You see, it is actually what you DO NOT HEAR on your Green adventures here that might be the most special emotion you will take away with you and this might only hit you hard when you return to your noisy life at home!

 

You will so often hear the sound of silence here, you might get used to it!

Maybe you will be standing alone in the high grass, in the warm embrace of the vast expanse of the dry surface of a disappearing lake, surrounded by a perfect circle wall of trees, with mountains touching the sky and it is exactly then that you will hear the uncompromising sound of NOTHING, all around you..

Nothing can be everything, Oh, how good nothing can sound!

 

When you reach the peak or viewing point of any of the mountain hikes in Green Slovenia and stop to take in the vista, it is then you will also notice the incredible silence and calm all around you from your armchair seat in the clouds.. 

Maybe you will be walking on one of the numerous forest hikes in the third most forested country in Europe when you stop for a moment and enjoy the total sound of silence..

 

Imagine the moment inside a massive cave when the guide turns the torch off and the dark overwhelms you, but it is only then that you also realise the incredible power of the silence all around you..

Equally, the very same trick will be performed by another guide in one of the several water caves here and this time as you stand there, maybe in the Planina Cave, (the only cave in Europe where you can witness two rivers crashing into each other to form a new river), the darkness will accentuate the sound of the rivers smashing together and echoing all around you and again you will be overwhelmed by the power of nature.

 

Indeed, if you are visiting the right places, the sound of running water will be a constant soundtrack to your holiday here in Green Slovenia, but you might only notice it when that sound is not in your ears!

So many of the very best Green adventures you can do here will either directly or indirectly involve being close to a waterfall, a gorge, a river, a new spring, the sea, a lake or if you are very lucky, a disappearing lake filling.. 

 

It might be the growing anticipation of hearing the Kozjak waterfall thundering away far away up river as the sound of the water crashing into that magical pool gets closer and closer and you cross the two Hobbit bridges, then you finally get to the end of the river track to be teased by curved wooden platform that you have to climb up and walk along before at last you set eyes upon what was maikng all that noise.. the most beautiful waterfall in Slovenia.

Your hike to the spectacular Tolmin Gorge will be along the Tolminka river, a stunning crystal grey colour that roars like a lion for company, until you reach the mighty rock walls of the gorge itself and the soundtrack is turned off while nature fires an arrow to melt your heart.. 

 

And if you want to hear the loudest tap in Green Slovenia, then just do the short walk upriver to the mouth of the Planina cave in the spring and you all that you will hear will be the power of the River of 7 Names and enough water to fill the Planina Disappearing lake coming out of the cave mouth..

We challenge you to witness the power of the river thundering through the centre of Kropa that powered an entire cottage ironworks industry, making iron nails and sending them all over Europe..

Maybe it will be the whistle of the cable just cm's above your gloved hands as you glide high up over the river zooming down the longest Zip wire in Europe at Bled that you will remember..

 

It might be the rustle of leaves and bushes as you disturb a deer in the forest and it races off with white tail bobbing or the screech of two hunting birds chatting overhead..

It might be the TOTAL silence you need to keep when sat in a hunter's hide waiting for a bear to lumber in front of your eyes in the middle of the forest..

 

You need to be in place well before the bear arrives, so you will also be surprised how much your senses will tune into the forest garden here and how quickly you realise you can hear every leaf falling or twig breaking as your heart beats away in anticipation of seeing the biggest animal in the European jungle in the wild!

Hear the sound of thunder and nostrils snorting as the lead mare gallops in front of dozens of other Lipizzaner horses with the black foals in tow when she finally decides the coast is clear and they all return to the main stud right in front of your nose at Lipica..

 

Listen to the gentle splash of the Soca lake water as Captain Deja's electric paddle steamer glides through the water to explore one of the most beautiful lakes in Slovenia that you have never heard of..

Imagine the sound of the cork squealing as the vineyard owner opens a bottle of their unique home grown wine for you to try and the glug glug as it is poured into your glass..

 

Go visit a Slovenian Carnival and be deafened by the cow bells and horns trying to scare winter off..

And finally, imagine the constant crunching of your thick E Bike tyres on the numerous gravel tracks accompanying you on one of the best E Bike rides you never realised you would do!

 

Taste Green Slovenia..

Another experience that you simply cannot replicate back home is dining out in Green Slovenia with a bottle of wine produced in the same valley..

You just can't do it at home.. So make sure you enjoy it properly here and NOT sat in the middle of a Ljubljana.. so GO there, to the place where they grow the food and pick the grapes and you will understand what we are banging on about!

 

Imagine arriving in the Vipava Green Wine Valley at any of the many amazing local restaurants there and tasting course after course that the incredibly imaginative and creative hosts have made with food grown in front of your eyes and being presented with different wines from the same valley that go best with each new course!

There are 7 completely different Slovenian Wine regions, each producing completely different unique wines and you can do this in any of them!

 

Sit in a cellar in any of those Green Slovenian wine regions and try a unique wine grown metres away in the knowledge this is the only place in the world where you can try that particular wine.

Try the tap water here in Green Slovenia, cos it comes direct from the source, even for the capital city, so please do not buy gallons of plastic bottles and enjoy how nature can taste from the tap.

 

But do bring one recycled water bottle with you when hiking, in case you come across one of those little forest taps connected to a local spring, cos this water tastes out of this world!

You will also be shocked and relieved how nice that little glass tumbler of home made schnapps or honey wine or Teran likor or grape juice tastes, handed to you by a friendly local or stranger.. It WILL probably happen here, so be ready!

It is the taste of a freshly plucked plum, apple, pear or peach from the tree or trying the very first cherries of the season from the Gorica BRDA hills or the olives from the Coastal Hinterland..

 

You will be shocked by the friendliness and lack of complication in a Michelin restaurant here and the surprisingly good quality of the simplest local eateries..

It is the home baked bread.. wow, just try to find it, but you will also be presented with it where you least expect it!

Turn up in April and test the imagination of Slovenia's top choclatiers at the Radovlica chocolate festival or rock up directly to their choccy shops at other times in the year.

 

Taste a ball of home made Italian style Ice Cream in the best Gelato cafe in the whole of Slovenia, in Vipava Old Town, the Vipava Valley and tell us if we were wrong!

Go honey tasting with a local bee keeper here in the greenest and most varied little country in Europe and you will realise that you simply do not have a choice of honey in your own country!

You will learn, as we did, that it depends on what the bees feast on and where they are taken to work, as to how the honey looks and tastes.. Arcacia flower tastes completely different to Chestnut tree to meadow flowers to wild cherry tree and to Lime tree..

 

Smell Green Slovenia..

Wrap your nostrils around this lot!

It is the fresh smell of the forest that totally surrounds you.. with the waft of spring meadow flowers as you hike across the fields..

It is the smell of the freshly baked bread plonked on your table before a seafood meal arrives in the Slovenian Coastal Hinterland..

it is the smell of the pig turning on the barbecue spit, roasting inside the hot glass case as you go into the restaurant on the Hog Roast Road..

 

It is the smell of the unique deep red ruby Teran wine swishing around in your goldfish bowl wine glass or any of the other unique wines in Slovenia's Seven Wine regions..

It is the muddy smell of the unique magical black ponds on top of Rogla mountain, buzzing with dragon flies and surrounded by miniature pine trees over 1,500m up.

It is the smell of incredibly fresh flowing air standing on top of a mountain or in the middle of a remote forest..

 

It is the smell of salty sea air as you hit Slovenia's Adriatic Riviera and choose where to eat or swim or relax.. 

It is the smell of fear on your breath as you imagine you will be eaten by a bear or wolf whilst hiking in these vast green forests.. but you probubbly won't, so relax!

It is the smell of the fresh cheese made on top of Velika Planina or Tolmin or the truffles you found going truffle hunting..

 

It is the smell of each bowl of unique mushroom soup you can try here or the local truffles blended into a delicious local pasta dish..

Come here in spring, especially May and smell the explosion of flowers and orchids trackside on the best short hike in all Green Slovenia from the Lodge to Predjama Castle..

 

Touch Green Slovenia..

Grab tightly onto the rocks and the cold steel wire as you clamber for 10 minutes along the side of the mountain to reach the Blue Eye Spring of the Soca River..

Feel that first cold shock as you plunge under the green crystal clear water of the Bela Idrija river to go for a swim, surrounded by mountains and lush green forest.

Be surprised how warm the sea water is on the coast and how you do not have to try very hard to float in the salty water either..

 

Wake up as you feel the splash of bridge jumping in fresh water rivers all over Green Slovenia, but you absolutely must jump off the Soca Gorge.. (check it is safe first please, ie someone went before you and didn't die)!

Ruffle your fingers in the white mane of a Lipizzaner or the black fur of a baby Lipizzaner..

Hug a tree, there are millions of them here to chosse from in all shapes and sizes..

 

Help the locals at grape harvesting time..

Squish your fingers in the fresh sticky plums that grow plentifully here..

Take your shoes off and dip your toes in some fast flowing water, splash some on your face to cool down..

Touch the rock wall to keep steady as you go through the dark cave archway that you need to go past to reach the uber stunning Rock Valley at Rakov Skocjan..

 

Build your own little rock stack near the river..

Where you are allowed, feel the hard smooth surface of a dripstones, taking shape over millions of years.. 

Pick up a perfectly shaped white pebble on the riverbed of the Soca and try to work out how the River gets it's colour..

 

And last but not least, find the perfect stick to help your balance on your next hike into Green Paradise.. there are lots of free sticks available in Green Slovenia..

OK job done.. we have only scratched the surface, but have to be pretty happy with that, now all you need to do is come here to See, Hear, Touch, Taste, Smell AND Sense Green Slovenia for yourselves.. preferably ALL at the same time!

Green Slovenia.. It does what it says on the tin!