Krokar, the forest people left alone

What the Krokar forest is

Krokar lies at the southern end of Kočevje, above the Kolpa valley, and in 2017 it joined the World Heritage List, as one of the sites in a UNESCO listing of ancient and primeval beech forests spread across the Carpathians and other parts of Europe. UNESCO describes it as a serial property of 93 components across 18 countries, showing how beech spread across Europe from a few refuges in the Alps, Carpathians, Dinarides, Mediterranean and Pyrenees after the last Ice Age. Slovenia contributes two pieces, Krokar and Snežnik-Ždrocle. It’s one of the country’s five World Heritage properties, which I cover on my page about UNESCO sites in Slovenia.

The tourist board explains that Krokar is one of six surviving patches of primeval forest in the Kočevje area, where about 90% of the land is wooded.

Seeing it: the Borovec trail

From the Borovec trail, the Borovška pešpot, which skirts the forest. It starts in the village of Borovec pri Kočevski Reki and gives you the Kolpa valley on one side and the primeval forest on the other. The tourist board recommends it for family walks, waymarked with a daffodil, and suggests going in May, when daffodils bloom beneath the trees. From the trail you can also drop down to the canyon of the Kolpa river.

For me it’s a walk to take slowly and in silence. There are no big viewing platforms or visitor facilities, and that’s exactly the point. Bring water and food, because Borovec is a small village, and remember that this is bear country, which is another good reason to stick to the marked path.

With a guide from Kočevska Reka

If you’d rather have it explained, Visit Kočevsko runs a guided outing for groups of 2 to 10. It starts in Kočevska Reka, the valley’s main village, home to Slovenia’s thickest walnut tree and a man-made lake that, together with the surrounding forest, is a forest reserve where white-tailed eagles nest. The village was founded in the 14th century by farmers from Germany and Tyrol, and after the war it lay inside a closed zone for decades, which is why the landscape survived so well. You then walk the Borovec trail and finish with a picnic of local produce in the woods.

To sleep close to everything, search places to stay in Kočevje on Expedia and filter by area before price.

What else to do nearby

Krokar fits into a day in the Kočevje area alongside an outing to see bears in Slovenia, which have their largest population here, or an afternoon on the Kolpa. Kostel Castle is in the same valley.

If you are short on time, see the best tours in Krokar primeval forest and pick one that fits your day.

To sleep close to everything, search places to stay in Kočevje on Booking.com and filter by area before price.