Debeli rtič, the cape where the Slovenian coast stays as it was

What Debeli rtič is

Visit Ankaran describes about 800 m of shoreline at the western tip of the peninsula, taking in the edge and walls of the cliff, a terrace at its foot and a 200 m coastal strip. The walls rise 12 to 21 m and are made of flysch, a soft rock the waves keep reshaping. At the tip, erosion has left stacks over the reef, and beyond lies a sandbank. A lighthouse standing in the water warns ships off the shallows.

You reach the cliff from the top of the peninsula, through olive groves and vineyards. The gentler walls are covered with Spanish broom scrub, and above are planted maritime pines and woodland of oak, hop-hornbeam and manna ash. The tourist board recommends the sunset from the top, and the park’s educational trails run through the vineyards, where tractors at work are a common sight.

A sea full of life

The real wealth is underwater. The coastal shelf is so flat that 100 m from shore it is rarely deeper than 5 m, and light reaches the bottom. There are meadows of Cymodocea seagrass and algae on the sandstone terraces, and according to the park almost 700 animal species live here, more than a third of the fish species in the Slovenian sea. Among them are rare and endangered species such as the noble pen shell, the long-snouted seahorse, Mediterranean stony coral, the loggerhead turtle and the shag. In winter, low tide uncovers wide stretches.

Protection and visiting

The tip of the cape was declared a natural monument in 1991, it belongs to the Natura 2000 network and, at residents’ request and with the unanimous backing of the municipal council, in June 2018 the wider area became a landscape park. For Visit Ankaran, it is one of the best-preserved stretches of the Slovenian coast and key to its biodiversity.

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The beach and getting there

Next to the cape is Debeli rtič beach, one of the largest on the peninsula, with paid parking nearby and, in summer, the free bus linking Ankaran’s beaches. Out of season, the cape makes for a quiet and very pleasant walk, and the tourist board also suggests it as a starting point for discovering the underwater world. For the rest of the coast, see beaches in Slovenia and the coast and Karst. Debeli rtič is where the Slovenian Mountain Trail starts or ends, depending on your direction, after crossing the country from Pohorje.

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