+386 31 879 611Description
Among Slovenian rivers, the Ljubljanica is something special. It is supplied with water from many karst streams - this is why it is also known as The River of Seven Names. Its path is long and exciting. It vanishes into the ground and comes to the surface many times along its course, each time with a different name. From its source in the foothills of Mount Snežnik it is known as Trbuhovica, then later as Obrh, then Stržen, Rak, Pivka and Unica rivers, until it rises to the surface for the final time near Vrhnika as the Ljubljanica. There are three major groups of springs: Močilnik, Retovje and Bistra, but you can also discover many other springs, wells and affluents.
Program
Our first stop leads us to Vrhnika, a town where, according to Greek mythology, Greek heroes, Jason and the Argonauts ended their sail along the Ljubljanica right here. The Argonauts disassembled their ship and carried it on their shoulders to the Adriatic Sea.
In Vrhnika we will visit the Ljubljanica River Exhibition, where we will learn the story of the town where the oldest discovered wooden wheel in the world was found, dated as old as 5,200 years.
Afterwards we will continue to Močilnik, a limestone valley which is considered as one of the main Ljubljanica springs.
Next we will drive to Planina, a settlement which was on the very border between Yugoslavia (or the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes) and the Kingdom of Italy between WWI and WWII. There we will see the ruins of Haasberg castle and head to the entrance of the Planina cave, where the river Unica surfaces.
Lunch break
After lunch we’ll venture to Rakov Škocjan, a picturesque karst valley, formed by the sinking and collapsing of the cave ceiling below. We will trek to view the splendid Big Natural Bridge (Veliki naravni most) and observe the stunning nature that surrounds it.
Our last stop will lead us to Lake Cerknica, which is one of the largest intermittent lakes in Europe. It appears the karst polje (plain) each year, caught between the Javorniki hills and the Bloke plateau on one side, and Mount Slivnica on the other. During the dry season, the lake disappears completely which makes it a phenomenal spot where swimming, fishing, hiking or grass mowing is all possible in just one year! The lake normally stays on the Cerknica plain for about eight months a year and the water usually spreads over a surface area of 20 km2 with its fullest point covering a surface of nearly 30 km2. When full, Lake Cerknica takes the title of being the largest lake in Slovenia.
Return to starting point.
