The Slovenian Mountain Trail, from Maribor to the Adriatic

The stages of the Slovenian Mountain Trail

First comes the Pohorje, the range of forests and bogs that rises behind Maribor. It’s the gentlest stretch and one of the prettiest, with the Veliki Šumik waterfall and the country’s largest raised bog, sprinkled with some twenty small pools. The trail then crosses Koroška and its medieval main town before entering the Kamnik-Savinja Alps, where Grintovec (2,558 m) is the high point and the Logar valley and Jezersko sit below.

Next are the Karawanks, Slovenia’s longest mountain chain, and then the Julian Alps, the heart of the whole route. Here the path goes over Mount Triglav, through the Seven Lakes Valley, the Vrata valley and the Soča Valley. This is the part that needs real experience, mountain kit and the sense to read the weather.

The finale is a different world. The trail drops through the Idrija and Cerkno hills, touches the karst country around Škocjan and the village of Strmec, climbs the highest point of Slovenian Istria and reaches the sea at Ankaran.

What level do you need?

Walkers who are already at home in the mountains. The Julian Alps section has exposed passages and altitude, and the tourist board itself says a guide is wise on your first trip to the Alps. I wouldn’t make it anyone’s introduction to Slovenia. For that there are valley routes such as the Juliana Trail, which I cover in the hiking in Slovenia guide.

If you do have the experience, the beauty is that each section stands on its own as a holiday. Before any high stretch, check the forecast and the snow, which is the first thing the tourist board asks.

Walking it in sections

To me it’s the most complete route in the country because it threads the three Alpine ranges, the Karst and the Adriatic onto one line. I also think it’s better in instalments. Three one-week trips, each in its own season, let you take in the Pohorje, the Kamnik-Savinja Alps and the Julian Alps properly instead of turning the trail into a race against the calendar. If you only have time for one section, start with the Pohorje.

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

Sleeping on the trail

The 49 mountain huts along the route are the natural way to do it, and the lower sections pass villages with rooms. What you can’t do is wild camp. The FCDO says it’s illegal everywhere in Slovenia, with fines from €40 to €500, and Triglav National Park enforces the rule strictly.

How the trail began in 1953

The concept belonged to Ivan Šumljak, who wanted to tie all the Slovenian Alps into a single path. The idea took shape on Črni vrh, the highest point of the Pohorje, and became reality in 1953. Today it’s about 600 km, starting in Maribor on the Drava and ending on the coast at Ankaran. Along the way you get 49 huts, around twenty summits and five towns. The tourist board reckons on 28 days to walk it in one go.

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

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