Mežica Mine, three ways into Mt Peca

By mining train, the classic tour

This is the classic tour and the easiest, children included, with no special skills needed. You ride deep into the mountain on the mine train, as the miners did, and follow the story of the workings. Departures are at 9:00, 11:00, 13:00 and 15:00 for groups of more than ten, and individuals and families join a group already formed.

By kayak and by bike underground

The kayak takes you through flooded galleries of clear, calm water, and as you paddle you hear what the mine was like when the machines were humming. It leaves at 9:00 and 11:00, with a minimum of two people. By bike you ride right through the mountain on an underground route of over 5 km, with departures at 10:00 and 14:00. The tourist board gives both experiences the Slovenia Unique Experience label. Separately there’s the Black Hole Trail, a technical descent designed for very experienced riders.

Booking, clothing and practical tips

Always book, because departures are fixed and some need a minimum number of people. Bookings are taken by phone or email every day between 9:00 and 15:00. Prices are published on the mine’s website. I’d bring a warm layer and closed shoes, and save the rest of the day for the Meža valley or Ravne na Koroškem.

If you are staying the night, see the best hotel deals in Mežica for your dates: the well-placed rooms go fast.

What Podzemlje Pece is

It’s the name of the Mežica show mine and museum, in Koroška, that runs part of the labyrinth of lead and zinc tunnels dug beneath Peca. The tourist board puts that labyrinth at around 1,000 km, the result of centuries of mining. The mine no longer produces anything, and its abandoned tunnels have become the setting for the tours.

The mine museum

The museum opens Tuesday to Sunday, 9:00 to 15:00, with mineral collections in the old building of the mine’s English owners. The Karawanken Geopark has its information point right beside it. For children there’s a space to hunt for the dwarf Perkmand’lc’s treasure and, outside, an adventure park about dinosaurs and King Matjaž, who legend says sleeps beneath Peca.

So you do not lose the morning at the ticket office, browse tickets and tours in Mežica Mine on GetYourGuide.

Christmas and events inside the mine

The mine’s spaces are also used for special events, company meetings and team-building programmes, according to Podzemlje Pece. Every Christmas, in the old hall where the shift used to assemble, a concert has been held for more than twenty years, with Slovenian performers such as Vlado Kreslin among those who have played there.

If you are staying the night, see the best hotel deals in Mežica for your dates: the well-placed rooms go fast.