Semič, among vines, birches and the Krupa spring

The Krupa spring, the first stop

Just outside the village. The River Krupa emerges at the foot of a fractured 30-metre rock face, and the tourist board says it can reach 1,000 litres a second. Here a whole river emerges from the rock in one go, and to me that alone justifies the detour.

The best way in is the Lebica-Krupa educational trail through the local karst. It passes three small caves, Lebica, Malikovec and Judovska hiša, the last being Bela krajina’s only confirmed Palaeolithic site, and the 47-metre Vodenica sinkhole with its permanent spring. A footbridge built in 2019 crosses the river to the habitat of Jalžić’s Congeria, which the local tourist board calls the world’s only cave clam.

Semič, away from the crowds

The village has 1,985 residents and the municipality 3,780, according to SURS, with just 6,298 tourist arrivals across 2025. The area’s tourist office suggests arriving through the area’s gateways and the Črmošnjice valley, because the vineyard cottages of Semiška Gora suddenly appear above the plain. Mornings often bring mist that wraps the valley, so Semič seems to float among vines and birches.

The name comes from a castle below Semenič hill, supposedly built in the 12th century and destroyed by the Ottomans in 1547. That year was especially brutal, with hundreds enslaved across Bela krajina, and the villagers built a wall around the parish church to defend themselves.

Hills, bikes and abandoned villages

Semič has eight peaks over a thousand metres and plenty of trails. It’s a starting point for cycle routes including the Via Bela krajina, there’s paragliding, and a motocross track at Stranska vas that locals rate among the toughest in Slovenia. Up on Kočevski Rog, RTC Gače offers skiing in winter, an adventure park and e-bikes to reach the abandoned villages of the Gottschee Germans, who lived there for more than six hundred years.

Once your dates are set, check which hotels are still free in Semič before prices climb.

Festivals and food

Semič’s calendar is quiet but quirky. August brings Semiška ohcet, the traditional wedding, and on St Stephen’s Day there’s a horse show. At Christmas a lit nativity scene goes up beside the Krupa. To eat, try semiško fulanje, a bread, egg and ham stuffing served with horseradish, one of the ten tastes of Bela krajina.

For a longer stay, the local tourist office also points to the Kulturni Center Semič, whose hall seats more than 350 people, the Semič Museum House with its exhibition on the fragile karst, and the Bela krajina Nature Centre. I’d combine Semič with Črnomelj and Metlika, and with time to spare, an afternoon on the Kolpa river.

If you would rather have a local show you round, book a guided tour in Semič and choose by the reviews.

Once your dates are set, check which hotels are still free in Semič before prices climb.