This headline might not mean much to you at the moment.. Most likely you opened this blog cos of the fantastic photo of another fairy tale Slovenian castle and wondered why you didn't know anything about it.. 

But we can assure you, it is a really big deal that Sneznik Castle finally has a cafe option open again and you can enjoy a cappucino there when you go visit the castle!

You see, in our humble opinion, Sneznik is the second best castle in Green Slovenia and if you consider "Numero Uno" Predjama Castle is just so amazing, it should be in a different league of it's own, then you can see how very highly indeed we rate Sneznik Castle.

 

But for years and years you couldn't even get a decent cup of coffee there to go with your castle visit and if you only knew how many other uber fantastic Secret Green Places to Visit you could easily combine into an epic day trip here, then you would understand how frustrated we were that this amazing castle is going completely unnoticed by most visitors to Green Slovenia!

But not by Lodge guests.. We make sure our guests at least know how close and epic Sneznik Castle really is, but there is another problem that there are so many other fantastic days out you could do from the Lodge in this direction, that even this stunning fairytale castle, nestled on the edge of one of the oldest forests in Europe is not even a sure thing to go see..

 

What does Sneznik mean?

Sneznik means something like Snow Mountain and comes from the name of the highest non Alpine Sneznik mountain (1,796m) in Green Slovenia, marking the border with Croatia and only 40km from the Lodge as the dragon flies, but clearly visibubble from our main balcony, especially the peak, with a distinct volcano cone shape and often snow covered, hence the name..

So it kinda makes sense that the rich Austrian dudes who remodelled this unique fantasy castle into an extravagent hunting lodge, should also call it "Schnee Burg" in German, "Snow Mountain" in English and "Sneznik" in Slovenian!

 

The vast, untamed, untouched forests that surround this epic castle and lead to Sneznik mountain have some of the purest air in the entire world, the oldest trees and are one of the only places in Europe where the "Big Safari 3", Bears, Lynx and Wolves, still roam.. 

Don't worry, you won't see them unless you go with a local hunter on a scheduled bear watching tour to specifically go see the largest European forest creature, safely and respectfully..

So already, in addition to Sneznik castle, you now know there is a huge mountain with amazing forests to go hiking on & around AND some Bear Watching to go do in the evening, (which can be organised locally, by contacting the local TIC, (Tourist info Centre) in nearby Loz), Sneznik is geographically in the beautiful Loz Valley..

But there is a lot more..

 

What is so special about Sneznik Castle?

We have only used photos in this article that we took from our recent visit to Sneznik on March 1st, (St David's Day, national day of Wales, by the way), but they will give you a bit of a clue how unique, enchanting and fantastic the castle looks like from the outside..

But it also has the most amazing interior too, fully furnished on every level, with a really good castle tour, departing on the hour and taking just under an hour, so a perfect fit into your day..

There is an Egyptian room, a dungeon, a giant stuffed bear, a full scale painting of St George, a cool interior communication system and fab state of the art heating too..

This place was one of the first to get electricity installed in Slovenia and they even had a secret peep hole in the wall by the window overlooking the main gates so the Lady of the house could check if she really wanted to to greet the latest visitor..

 

You can easily see how these mega rich owners spared no expense furnishing the castle out, but this is also a very homely place indeed, where, as you wander around you get the feeling that the occupants have just nipped out for a starbucks and will return any minute!

So make sure you do the castle tour and then you will get to find out more about the old owners, the history and all the other special features of this magical castle..

Outside, make sure you do a close circle walk of the castle as an absolute minimum to fully appreciate and take in the several different shaped towers, drawbridge, moat and turrets!

 

At the rear of the castle is the most amazing lock gate, which was built to control the water flow into the moat and river, but looks more like something directly out of a Lord of the Rings film!

Also make sure you have a good look at the big square front meadow and imagine it filled with ice, which was dug out, cut up and sold in nearby Trieste, but some was also kept here in the ice cellar, which you can also find by the path at the rear of the castle..

The gardens and forest are absolutely stunning and we also know a local tour guide who becomes the character "Countess Greta", who once lived in the castle, to give you a most unexpected tour of the castle grounds, with even more local secrets and a nice cuppa with a slice of cake!

 

Why is Sneznik Castle so "under the radar"?

Location, Location, Location.. Sneznik's stunning location is simply no good, traffic wise, if you made the mistake to base your Green Slovenian holiday in Bled, Ljubljana or the coast, but not a problem at all if you are based in the middle of everything worth seeing with just a 50 min drive from the Lodge to Sneznik and a ridiculously good choice of other Green attractions along the way to the castle to combine and make yet another fantastic Slovenian day trip out..

We will explain more about these below and you would actually need 2 to 3 days to do them all! But if you get your logistics and base camp right, then there is no reason you cannot see a lot of the best bits in Green Slovenia, assuming you allocate a reasonable amount of time..

 

We have written a few other blogs on the subject, Do Not Regionalise your Holiday in Green Slovenia and Don't try to Join the Dots to Explore Green Slovenia, for example.. cos ALL the best bits in this little pocket rocket of a country are OUTSIDE the towns.. including Sneznik..

But there is so much internet hype & well intended misinformation out there, it might even convince you there is only a lake, a capital city, a big cave and a pretty town by the sea to visit.. So it is totally understandabubble why you will probably miss out most of the best secret Green treasures like Sneznik Castle.. if you didn't find our website, that is!

 

Why is it so very important that there is a Food & Drink option at the Castle?

The Loz valley has a tiny population and the castle suffers from the "chicken and egg" conundrum that if enough lucky people came to visit, then of course it would make sense to have a cafe.. But what comes first, the visitors or the cafe?!

There are also very few local restaurants in this neck of the woods.. We know where they are, so can always help guests plan eating options for the day, but wouldn't it be just so much easier if there was at least a cafe available at the castle!

Well now there is! And we were so happy to see the new cafe is open Fri, Sat & Sun in the winter and every day in the summer, (Let's face it, when you will probably be here)!

Of course, the few, wonderful local people involved in tourism know full well that a cafe is the absolute minimum offer required and they would much prefer to also have some kinda food option too and we really hope this happens.

So this is why it really is a big deal for the castle to have this wonderful new facitlity and we encourage you to use it when you come visit the second most amazing castle in Green Slovenia! 

 

Why is Sneznik Castle so much better than Ljubljana Castle?

Please do not think we are just kicking Ljubljana castle for the fun of it..

We love Ljubljana castle and so will you and compared to many other countries, even this castle is really good.. You will get a great view of Ljubljana and the kids will enjoy going up in the glass lift thingy.. (Don't forget you could use your legs instead and walk up to the castle from the other end of the main street, direction away from the 3 Bridges, next to the river)..

But Ljubljana castle has it soooooooo easy compared to the Dozens of frankly much better regional castles, cos you guys have probably swallowed the line that the capital city is a "must see" destination and when you arrive and are scratching around for things to actually do there, so the castle is an obvious place to go up & see the view!

Be honest though.. Before reading this blog, you probably did have Ljubljana castle pencilled into your ridiculously too long 3 days in the capital city, (seriously, half a day, max one day is more than enough)!

 

So visitors tend to sleep walk up to the castle as something to do in Ljubljana , but think about it, spending too long in the tiny capital will mean you are missing out on seeing a really special Green waterfall, gorge, cave, river.. Or Sneznik castle for example!!

There is REALLY nothing particularly wrong with Ljubljana castle and the wonderful staff do work very hard to try to make it interesting for you, but compared to Sneznik and numerous other fantastic local castles in Green Slovenia, you might find it all a little dull up there with notta lotta history or legend to grab your interest and loadsa people too..

Compare that to the Green paradise setting of Sneznik Castle, with stunning exterior, epic interior and endless hiking around the castle with NOBODY else for company!!

Well you do the maths, but you have read this far, so we hope to have persuaded you a bit and now we intend to totally clinch the deal!

 

Other Amazing Stuff to combine into Your Day with a visit to Sneznik Castle..

So are you really gonna come to the most beautiful small Green country in Europe and spend time trudging around urban museums, shops and doing wine tasting in a city that doesn't even produce wine??

We already metioned the Bear watching and Sneznik mountain with forest, but literally in a direct line from the Lodge to Sneznik Castle, you could also easily combine any one or two, even 3 of these "absolutley not to be missed" epic Green Nuggets below, into your day trip adventure.. The choice is yours..

 

Planina Cave & Rapunzel Tower..

The best cave in Slovenia, in our humble opinion, is just under 20 mins down the road from the Lodge on the way to Sneznik with walking cave tours at 5pm every day in the summer and would be a fantastic way to conclude your Sneznik castle day out, on the way home.

There is also an uber epic 5 hour Rubber Boat adventure there and if Slovenia's longest water cave, full of real Baby Dragons is not enough for you, then remarkably, Slovenia's own Rapunzel Tower dominates the skyline vista from the Planina cave car park.

If ever you saw a tower more like Rapunzel's, then this is the one and Rapunzel has had the decorators in, so should also be open for visits real soon!

 

Rakov Skocjan..

This is an uber epic nature park with a 4-5 hour circle walk along both sides of a river between two massive rock arches.. 

The whole thing was a huge prehistoric cave, now collapsed and covered in thick Green forest to give you an idea of what the Slovenian Karst Jungle would look like.

If time is tight, then you can easily just visit the two natural stone arch bridges that were the entrance and exit of the cave.. But to do that, you will need help to know where to park, where to go and what to see, if your time is limited..

 

The Cerknica Disappearing Lake..

The largest disappearing lake in Europe is next in line on the way to Sneznik Castle, 25 mins from the Lodge and is so huge the best advice to get a feeling & experience of this unique natural Green giant is to spend a couple of hours touring one of the two best corners of this Karst phenomenon.. 

Even though we have been lucky to have lived here so long, it was only recently when we discovered another fantastic 2 hour Hike along 12 Springs at the the Far end of the Cerknica Disappearing Lake.. We couldn't believe it and nor will you!

 

Krizna Cave..

Next in line is yet another unmissabubble cave that you also probably never heard of, but Krizna, or Cross Cave is another spectacular water cave, with daily one hour & a Bit tours and a 4 hour and a 7 hour boat trip crossing 22 lakes to explore one of the rarest, still forming caves in the world..

Just 40 mins from the Lodge and now just 10 mins from Sneznik, so ot would be perfectly possible to have a most unexpected Cave / Castle day that is not Predjama and Postojna!!

 

River of 7 Names..

There is a spectacular Karst river that disappears underground then pops up 7 times on it's journey from the Slovenian Croatian border not far from Sneznik Castle, going under Cerknica Lake and is EXACTLY the same river you walk along in Rakov Skocjan AND is the SAME river that pops out of the Planina Cave.. Just Epic!

Well river number 2 of the 7 rivers, dives down into the the Golobina Cave, really close to Sneznik Castle and you can also drive a few KM's just over the border at the spectacularly named Babno Polje, (which should have been in Harry Potter), to see the very spot where this River of 7 Names starts, popping out of a hill side!

To put this natural wonder into context, the very same water you see at the first springs of this unique River of 7 Names will run through the centre of Ljubljana as River Number 7, a week or two later from here! Lower the drawbridge and shut the front door!!!

 

It doesn't matter about being right or wrong or if you believed us or not when we told you there was soooo much else to do on a daytrip to Sneznik Castle.

What matters is you get the very best holiday experiences from the Greenest country in Europe..

But now you know there are 2 or 3 days worth of Green stuff to do just on the way to Sneznik, tough decisions will need to be made with your limited hollibubble time..

None of this matters though, if you do not make the choice to go visit Sneznik Castle and enjoy a nice cup of tea and slice of cake in the lovely new cafe!