Cerknica, the town of the disappearing lake and the Slivnica witches

The town of Notranjska Regional Park

Cerknica has 4,124 people and heads a municipality of 11,899 covering 241 km². The whole Notranjska Regional Park, created in 2002 and 222 km² in size, lies within the municipality, which founded and runs it. It protects Lake Cerknica, one of Europe’s largest intermittent lakes, wetlands of global importance, karst valleys, caves, forests and plateaus. Within its boundaries there are 50 natural features of national importance, from the natural bridges of Rakov Škocjan to the lake’s systems of sinkholes.

What to see: the lake and Rakov Škocjan

The lake fills the polje for about eight months a year and, when full, is the largest in Slovenia. Very close, on the northern slopes of the Javorniki hills, lies Rakov Škocjan, a valley born when the roof of a cave caved in. From that roof survive the Small Natural Bridge, 42 m high, and the Big one, 37 m. Along the floor meanders the Rak stream, which emerges from the Zelške caves and vanishes into Tkalca Cave. It became Slovenia’s first regional park back in 1949 and has an educational trail. Together with the lake and Križna Cave it is a Ramsar Site.

Slivnica and the witches

Above the lake to the north rises Mount Slivnica. Legend has it that the witches and their mistress Uršula live there, brewing potions and storms in Coprniška Cave below the summit, as Valvasor already described. The truth behind it is that in winter warm, moist air rises from the cave and turns to fog. Today it is a hikers’ peak, with a hut below the summit reached from the villages at its foot.

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The Cerknica carnival

The witches are also the stars of the carnival, one of the most eye-catching in the country. It starts on Fat Thursday, when the Butalci, the dim-witted villagers of Slovenian literature, take over the town hall, and ends on Ash Wednesday with the burial of the Carnival King, which the Slovenian Tourist Board considers the oldest moving carnival street show in Slovenia.

Getting to Cerknica

From Ljubljana it takes about an hour by car. By bus, the station planner showed 24 departures on Monday 19 October 2026 and five on Saturday 24, and there is also a service from Postojna. The nearest railway station is Rakek, about 10 km away. Snežnik Castle is not far either, and Notranjska gathers the rest of the region’s sights.

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