Mountains & Lakes of the Julian Alps

A perfect introduction to the famed Via Alpina walking route through Slovenia’s Julian Alps. Wonderful alpine walking through meadows, beside lakes and through narrow gorges. Carefully chosen traditional accommodation with local cuisine make this a walk not to be missed!

Classic Routes | If you’re the active, outdoorsy type, who’s interested in taking on the great routes of the world or looking for a challenge, then our Classic Routes are for you. We’re talking the West Highland Way, Tour Du Mont Blanc and the Passau to Vienna Danube Cycle Path, to name but a few!

Inn to Inn Walking | Walk from place-to-place changing accommodations each night. Generally staying in B&B’s, inns, and guesthouses.

Solo Travellers, Families with Teens

The minimum age for this tour is: 16 Years

This walk is graded moderate to strenuous overall and includes daily walks of between 9 and 16 kms and ascents of up to 1,025m following rugged footpaths, tracks, and mountain paths. Due to the nature of the terrain in Slovenia, and the fact that paths are not as well looked after as in other alpine countries you may find that some paths can be blocked with overgrown tree roots etc. and care is required when negotiating the paths, paying close attention to your feet as the paths are very rugged.

Some of the ascents and descents are steep and are exposed so require a good head for heights and surefootedness. There are some short sections of up to 1 km where ladders and cables are in place to help you along the way where the path is very narrow or the slopes are scree. Some illustrations of this are shown below to give you an idea of what to expect.

Days 3 and 4 are the tougher days due to the fact that they are more exposed, route-finding is a bit trickier and the terrain which consists of lots of gravel rocks can become very slippery after bad weather. If the weather is bad, it is possible to simply do a shorter loop walk up to the church on day 4.
In summary you should have a good level of walking fitness and be an experienced alpine walker to get the most from this holiday. Most of the walks are not possible to shorten once you have started. The itinerary would not be suitable for anyone under the age of 16 or anyone suffering from vertigo or a fear of heights.

We specifically select your accommodation to ensure that you enjoy every minute of your stay in Slovenia. You will stay for 4 nights in 3* hotels/inns, and 3 nights in a 4* hotel. All offer comfortable rooms with en suite bathrooms, a warm welcome to walkers, traditional hospitality and delicious local food. Please be aware that twin & double rooms in Slovenia typically have 'Austrian twin' beds: 2 single mattresses side by side in one double bed frame with two separate duvet covers and pillows.

Alternate accommodation

We will always try and accommodate you at the locations detailed in the itinerary, but because of limited availability in high season we may have to accommodate you at an alternative location of the same or better standard. We will confirm your accommodation details on confirming your reservation.

Single Rooms

If you require single rooms within your party we would be happy to accommodate you although there is a single room supplement payable.

Solo Walkers

This holiday is available for solo walkers but we would recommend that you are experienced in walking and navigating alone. If you are traveling solo the holiday is slightly more expensive as some costs are not shared.

Meals

A delicious breakfast is included each morning. Most accommodations are happy to provide a packed lunch - this should be requested on arrival. Or you can pick up lunch in the village or stop along the trail. If you choose the half board option dinner is included or alternatively you can eat at the hotel or a local restaurant each night.

The routes on this trip are generally easy to follow to the Macs Adventur App enabling you to follow the route using your phone’s GPS.

This holiday is available to start on any day between mid May until mid October. The best months for walking are in the summer months between July and September when the wild flowers are in still in bloom, the weather is usually fair and the higher alpine trails are mostly clear of snow. It should be noted however that the weather in the mountains is changeable and therefore you should be well prepared for all weather conditions including the occasional thunderstorm. There can also occasionally still be some snow in the early season. We do provide a detailed equipment list for the tour so that you are prepared.

If you choose to travel after the 15th September, mountain huts will be closed during the week. This means that on Day 2 and Day 6, please ensure to bring your own food and water with you on your walk, as you will be unable to purchase at Ceska Koca Hut on Day 2 and Lipanska Hut on Day 6.

Jezersko is located just 30km from Slovenia’s capital, Ljubljana. Many low cost airlines fly into Ljubljana Airport including Easyjet, Wizz Air, and Flybe.From the airport: To get to Jezersko take the airport bus to Ljubljana (45mins) or to Kranj (15mins) and a connecting service to Jezersko (2 hours total). It is also possible to take a taxi transfer straight to Jezersko which you can pay for locally and it will be more reasonable and takes about 45 minutes. We can pre-arrange this transfer for you too but the cost is more expensive than doing it locally. Let us know if you would like a price for this.

Bohinj has a railway station in Bohinjska Bistrica, 5 km from your hotel. It is on the Jesenice - Nova Gorica sideline, only a few trains a day. From the village of Ribcev Laz there are buses to Ljubljana (2hrs) whereupon connecting buses serve Ljubljana Airport (45mins). A good resource to check timetables and fares is the Slovenian Travel Information website.

Your bags will be transferred between your accommodation as per your itinerary. We ask you to limit your luggage to one bag of up to 20kg per person.