Kranjska Gora: Aint no Mountain High Enough

Posted by Kyle Simmons July 30, 2023

Kranjska Gora: Aint no Mountain High Enough

Leaving Bohinj was difficult for all of us, however when planning for our trip the most exciting hikes that I found were coming up next in Kranjska Gora. Up in the northwestern tip of Slovenia, Kranjska Gora is known for mountain adventure seekers. In winter, it is the home of multiple ski resorts and a world class ski-jumping location and in summer it is filled with mountain bikers, cyclists, climbers and hikers. Our drive in to the area further demonstrated the incredible biking infrastructure that exists throughout Slovenia allowing cyclists to ride from town to town, city to city, or even across the entire country, often with an entirely dedicated path for cycling separate from the road. It is hard to drive more than a mile without seeing a cyclist anywhere in the country, and seeing both the views from the road and the safety offered by the dedicated roads, it is easy to see why this is the case. Needless to say, we'll be coming back (with the kids when older or without the kids sooner) so that we can fully enjoy all of the cycling. We spent three days in Kranjska Gora with a number of rough patches of weather, but in the moments without rain we made the most of it!

Adventures

Hiking:

Marteljuk Waterfall: a beautiful falls that first showcased the beautiful turquoise/aqua marine river color in (later to become forever known as Soča blue)

Peričnik Waterfall: a powerful waterfall that you can hike behind and feel the strength of the falls (and the mist that comes with it!). this was Zaylee's first solo hike (1 mile!) and big brother was so proud of her

Tromeja (Pec): a 7 mile hike with 2,795 feet of elevation gain and 31 grueling switchbacks to the triple border of Austria, Italy and Slovenia providing beautiful views of the Julian Alps, the Gailtal Alps, the Gurktal Alps, the High and Low Tauern and the western part of the Karavanke mountains. The point that we hiked to was the meeting point for leaders from the respective countries when Slovenia joined the European Union and is part of the international chain of monuments for peace. I had hoped that it would be an inspirational hike in a time when the World sometimes feels broken. Candidly, it was not (a ski lift on the Austrian takes away from the epic journey that we took), haha, but Zane did amazing and the rest of us toughed it out to make it to the top (above the clouds!) and we proved to ourselves that we can do something very difficult as a family.

Paddleboarding at Jezero Jasna: Zane asked us every day to continue his newfound love of paddleboarding at this small lake. Fortunately, it had beautiful views of the mountains that we could all enjoy and Zaylee loved playing on the shores.

Delicious Eats

Lacni Kekec: an amazing grilled meat spot by the base of the mountain that serves the largest helpings we have ever seen (seriously, look at this plate!) and also featured an amazing eggplant bruschetta and heavenly mango cheesecake