Weekend Mountain Escape
About two weeks ago, I and my family had spent an extended weekend in the mountainous region of Slovenia, where we both explored the areas around the mountain Sorica and all of the natural beauties the mountainside itself had to offer. I wanted to document the trip as it is not often that my family decides to spend the summer up in the mountains, but in my opinion, it definitely was worth it, I got the chance to take some incredible photos of the landscape there and got to experience new hidden corners of my home country.
This will be a shortened recap of my trip, taking you along with the places we visited and the things we did during our time spent there.
Enjoy :)
IDRIJA MINE
Beginning our trip on the morning of Friday, 10th July, we had decided to spend the majority of the morning hours stopping by and taking a look at the towns and places that were conveniently placed along the way to our final destination. With the summer having arrived, were in no particular rush so we first decided to stop by in the small town of Idrija, that is world-famous for its historical Mercury mine and other associated attractions situated there.
We were lucky enough to be able to squeeze in a 1.5-hour tour of the mine shafts, with a local guide who informed us on the historical and functional aspects of the mine.
The mercury mind of Idrija was the second largest mercury mine in the world (Before it had closed down), with the largest one still being in operation, in Spain. It is estimated that the mine in its prime years of working, had produced up to 13% of the worlds mercury reserves, which is a huge percentage for a country that is so geographically and demographically small in size.
The history of Mercury mining in Idrija dates back to 1490, where during the roughly 500 years that it operated, it exported about 107,700 tonnes of the liquid metal. The mine had closed its doors int he year of 1995, where it had since become part of the UNESCO World Heritage List (in the year 2012) and some of its 700km long dug tunnels are open today for tourists to see what it was like to spend 8 hours as a miner, working in cold, wet and dark conditions.
BRIDGE OVER THE SOČA RIVER
After having taken a look at Idrija, we had stopped at the en-route town of "Most na Soči", which translates to Bridge over river Soča. From all of the locations that we had visited throughout the entirety of our trip, this one was one of the most memorable and scenic, simply because of the irresistible Azur-like blue colour of the river and the sunny weather conditions that we had on the day.
The area along with the town, is quite small, taking up about 1.6 km squared and having a population of 236 people. The town today is surrounded by the river Sočca, which due to the flat surface on which the town is built, stays still and stagnant, making it perfect for water-based sports, boat rides and fishing activities to go on there.
The water, although cold, is an incredibly vividly clean blue, where if you choose,e you can swim in it or take a canoe or SUP with you. We, unfortunately, did not have the time to go swimming, although I would have loved to experience it there. I guess that just means I will have to go there again sometime int he future :)
MOUNTAIN TOP SORICA
With the time around 3 pm, we had to start making our way to our final destination, the Sorica mountain top, where we would be spending the night for the next three days, and exploring what the nearby natural sights have to offer.
Upon arriving at the mountain top, we first unpacked our things at the mountain lodge we were staying at - which was completely brand new and had been recently renovated to hold more of a modernistic cabin vibe to it. Finishing the day off there, we had dinner and quite so went to sleep as we were sincerely tired from the extensive driving and sightseeing we had done on that day. Onto the next day we go.
HIKING TRIP
We woke up the following day and the weather had transitioned overnight from being brilliantly sunny to a dull and cloudy sky, that seemed ideal for the activity that we would be doing that day - hiking - as it was not too hot or too cold.
To wake me up and to do some additional sight seeing, I decided to go take a quick hike up t the complete tip of the mountain, which I actually ended u doing for the remaining two days that we spent there. The views from the complete top were superior, even with bad weather conditions, and it was the place that I was able to capture my best photos of the nearby mountains and unforgettable jade green landscapes, as you see on the photos.
A short breakfast followed my descent from the mountain top and soon after we would begin the main hike of the day, that ended up taking us about 5 hours but it was absolutely worth it as we were constantly surrounded by amazing views of the valleys and towns that lay below us. The lush green mountainsides were at that point covered by vibrant spring flowers that bloomed with the colours of the rainbow and added the scent of meadows to our hiking trip.
During our hike, we had come across several abandoned bunkers that were dug deep into the sides of the mountain by Italian soldiers during the First World war (as we were not far away from the Italian border). We were able to explore some of those, going into the now-abandoned tunnels and rooms that they had excavated out of the mountainside, uncovering a hidden gem of history that still lays uncovered to many people today.
With the transition into the early afternoon, the weather had started to worsen and dark storm heavy clouds started to clump together over our heads, that would soon mea rain. And sure enough, it did. Within 10 minutes of us having descended down the mountain top, a torrential storm deluged the surrounding area, leaving anything and everything that was left outside, completely soaking wet within five seconds.
Having escaped the rain the last minute and being safely inside the lodge, we finished the day with a simple meal and once again headed off to bed quite early as our feet were exhausted from the hike. This certainly was an active weekend, as that day alone, I had walked about 14 kilometres, but nevertheless all the blisters and painful feet were worth it for the one of a kind views we experienced.
VINTGAR GORGE
Being just 20minutes away from Bled, this gorge is a must-see for anyone who loves Bled but is annoyed by the number of tourists or traffic that are often found there.
The gorge itself is 1,6km long with the teal blue river Radovna running and twisting in between the rocky sides of the gorge. In 1893, a walking path was constructed inside the gorge, on which tourists today can walk and take pictures of the magnificent rive and occasional waterfalls they come across. In fact, the Vintgar Gorge is home to the largest river waterfall in Slovenia; waterfall Šum, where its heigh reaches up to 16m.
This landmark was amazing to see, especially since we had great weather and it was my first time seeing the gorge. I would highly recommend anyone who has not yet been, to spend about 2 hours here and take in the natural sights.
LAKE BOHINJ
Towards the end of the day, we made a quick visit to the nearby lake Bohinj, that was far less busy than Bled, but still beautiful in the sunset hours, with people swimming and doing water sports on the lake. Just from the number of camper vans and tourist busses, you could tell that the summer season was in full kick and everyone decided to soak up some sunshine while it was still there.
Once again having had an active day full of walking, exploring and driving around, we had decided to make our way back to our sleeping quarters and spend our last night there. That night, we crashed onto our beds like heavy logs from the tiredness and decided to call it a day there.
TOWN OF ŠKOFJA LOKA
The last morning had come and the weather for our trip home was once again looking well and pleasantly sunny. After a morning cup of coffee and our last breakfast, we decided that instead of driving straight back home, we would again use this time to stop by at interesting locations on the way, the first one which would be the larger town of Škofja Loka.
Škofja Loka is today an active town with about 12,000 people and area of 4.5km squared. While being there, we spent time exploring the historical city centre and going up to the castle where we walked on the paths that coiled around the castle walls. The city centre was laden with pedestrian and cyclists, or people enjoying their Sunday mornings with a cup of coffee at a nearby coffee shop.
Since it was approaching midday, we finished off the trip with lunch at a local restaurant and soon after decided to head back home, towards Ljubljana that was roughly half-hour away.
MY OVERALL EXPERIENCE
Since we don't often spend our holidays in the mountains - especially during the summer months - I had enjoyed this trip greatly, mostly because of the great number of new places and natural sights that I discovered and experiences, as well as having the chance to capture some great photos of the trip to keep the memory alive in a photographic form. More than that, it was time well spent with my family away from the busy hustle and bustle of the daily life we are so accustomed to and to be able to take a break fro three days to step back and recharge.
Overall trip rating: 8.5/10
