Hiking in the Julian Alps

About the trail

We began with a transfer to Pokljuka, a seemingly random forest access point on the road. But based on the amount of cars parked at the turn off, it becomes clear that this is a well-used entry point to the park for locals. From this spot, you’ll hike through forests for a few kilometers until you reach Zajavornik meadow, where you’ll find Zajavornik Alm. I highly recommend stopping here for a snack. They have the best elderflower juice we’ve ever tried, and we consider ourselves elderflower juice connoisseurs at this point. You then hike uphill for an hour or so through forest toward the Lipanci Hut. You can end the day early here, or drop your bags and climb Debela Peč, adding a few hours roundtrip. It’s a great peak with fantastic views! When you come back down to the Lipanci hut, enjoy their dinner options; they offer a lot more variety than other huts and you’ll be grateful to have something other than barley stew or jota (sauerkraut stew with sausage).

On stage two, you leave Lipanci Hut and hike up toward Vodnikov Hut. This is one of the most popular huts in Slovenia, since it is just three hours below the Triglav summit. You’ll hike toward the Central Julian Alps on this stage and get some good elevation (1000m) as you climb and descend a few passes to get to this spot. It feels like a fairytale with young cows on the hillside playing and grazing in the sun. If you want to add on a Triglav summit to your tour, you can book two nights here and hike up the next morning. You’ll see that most people there are either coming down from their summit or preparing to head up in the morning. This is a larger hut and very well organized. There are even showers!

On the third stage, you’ll hike to the last hut on the tour, Prehodavcih. The day’s hike is a rocky ascent for the majority of it. To begin, you’ll hike up through a cirque until you reach the Dolic saddle. Here, you can choose to turn left and continue toward the hut, or hike straight and detour a few minutes to the Koča na Doliču hut for a small break. During this day’s trail, you have the option to add on the summit of Kanjavec (2569m) for some of the best views of the national park. There are two options: use the trail on the GPX by turning left at the saddle (T3/T4), or detour first to the hut and then climb from there (T5 strenuous). The climb from the hut is a lot of fun, but a true climbing scramble for an hour and a half with a steel cable at one point and no defined trail. You should only choose this option if you’re experienced and comfortable with T5 trails. The other route up the mountain is also a scramble in sections, but with a more reliable and maintained trail. To learn more about the SAC trail rating system, read here. Once down, you’ll hike about 45 minutes to the hut, perched in the Valley of Seven Triglav Lakes. Be warned that it is highly forbidden to swim in the lakes in Triglav National Park, no matter how tempting they look!

On your final stage, you can either hike all the way down to Bohinj (22km) or to Blato Meadow for a shuttle (15km). Both are beautiful, and it just depends on how much time you have. The shuttle only runs a few times per day, and you need to book a ticket online ahead of time. It’s only 2 euro, but they may deny you if you don’t have one. To get there, you’ll descend comfortably throughout the day in meadows and forests, and will pass a few huts where you can stop for refreshments. When you reach Bohinj, make sure to take a dip in the lake to celebrate the end of a great tour!

Recommendations

If you’re looking for some R&R after the trail, we recommend Hotel Bohinj or Vila Muhr for wellness hotels where you can truly unwind after your trek. They are sister properties that sit on the same hill overlooking the lake, hidden in a small wooded area. Both have lots of locally-sourced Bohinj treats and carefully curated menus for every meal, along with a shared wellness center and large lawn where there’s a bonfire every evening. Vila Muhr also hosts 4 and 8-course dinners a few times a week that are very popular for people staying in town.

If you’re not sure where to begin in designing or booking a tour in Slovenia, we recommend working with Slotrips. They’re a family-owned, local tour company based in Ljubljana who have been designing tours for over 20 years. They have lots of self-guided tours on their website you can book, like this same route we took, which they call the Triglav National Park Adventure, or they can help you design your own bespoke tour if you’re looking for something specific. You can also book the tour yourself! Contacting the huts is easy by phone or email. Just be sure you book early, as this is one of the most popular areas in the country for trekking.

When hiking in the Julian Alps, you are in one of the most beautiful places in Europe, and our favorite mountain range in the world. If you’re looking for a short hut-to-hut tour in the area, this one is a good place to start. You’ll have lots of mountains, alpine lakes, and beautiful huts, not to mention views, marmot and mountain goat sightings, and countless wildflowers that pop up throughout the season. It’s a special way to see what Slovenia’s all about, and to get some much-needed quiet from our noisy daily lives. Happy trails!