GORJE AND POKLJUKA: THE BALCONY OF THE GORENJSKA REGION

A small group of villages and settlements in close proximity to Bled, invite you into the untamed nature of the Triglav Natural Park. The indigenous houses with their stables, a number of technical heritage sites that include watermills, the remains of ironworks and the tradition of bell-making all promise a genuine cultural and historical heritage experience. Artistic works include painted beehive panels, Napoleon’s rock, tombstone by famous architect Plečnik and many others.

All this beauty is complemented by the picturesque landscape of Gorje, featuring the forest-covered plateaus of Mežakla and Pokljuka with its world-renowned Biathlon Centre. On the margins of Gorje is the wonderful Vintgar Gorge that is incised into the picturesque natural landscape.

The Vintgar gorge was made accessible with bridges and gallery walkways in the 19th century and is illustrative of the wild landscape of alpine streams. The 1.6km path has many attractions including Žumer's gallery walkway, a number of pools and rapids and the 13m Šum waterfall.

This plateau lies between 800m and 1,300m in the Julian Alps between the Radovna and Sava Dolinka rivers and is criss crossed with hiking and cycling trails. A part of Mežakla is within the Triglav National Park and one of the most interesting sights is Snežna Jama - the Snow cave.

This karstic plateau in the Julian Alps is also the largest forested area in the Triglav National Park. Due to its exceptional and varied natural heritage and energy points the plateau has many trails suitable for activities all year-round such as hiking, cycling, biathlon and cross-country skiing.

The gorge is a dry, narrow and deep ravine and at 2km, is the longest in Slovenia - and full of surprises, with its natural arches, overhanging rocks, caves and gallery walkways and wooden bridges across the narrowest parts.

A miniature cow bell painted with gentian and edelweiss motifs is the most important Gorje speciality as well as the village symbol. The tradition of hand-made cow bells is illustrated in both pictures and words.