
Wild Slovenia
An RSPB Guildford Group Trip with Naturetrek, June 2024
I was pleased when this trip to Slovenia was announced as it was some time since our local group had organised a holiday abroad. The itinerary looked good so I decided to join eleven other people from the group for the trip. We were led by the NatureTrek guide, Stephen Buckle, and a local guide, Paul Veenvliet.
We stayed in the same hotel, Hotel Jama in Postojna, throughout the week. The hotel was conveniently located right next to the famous Postojna Cave. A lovely river flowed past the hotel and into the cave entrance, along which we enjoyed pleasant pre-breakfast walks most mornings. We were incredibly lucky with the weather. It was warm and sunny the whole week apart from the last day when we were flying home anyway.
Day 1 – Tuesday 4 June
We flew out from Heathrow at midday and were met by Paul at the airport in Ljubljana. While we were waiting for Paul and Stephen to pick up the vans, we spotted our first Red-backed Shrike. The journey to the hotel didn’t take too long and soon we were installed in our rather nice rooms, each with a balcony looking over the hillside opposite.
Day 2 Wednesday 5 June
We started our first full day with a pre-breakfast walk along the river and were delighted to hear and see a Wryneck.



After breakfast, we drove to Križna Jama (Cross Cave), a remarkable karst cave system known for its series of underground lakes. We took the short guided tour, which included a brief boat ride on one of the subterranean lakes. The cave was completely dark except for our torchlight, creating an unforgettable and somewhat eerie experience.



Next, we headed to Lake Cerknica, an intermittent lake that, due to recent heavy rainfall, was quite flooded. We had lunch by a bridge overlooking the lake and here we spotted our first Black Stork. After a splendid lunch, we attempted to walk along a circular path that went around the back of the lake (marked Pot Izvirov on map).

Wildflowers were abundant everywhere and we kept hearing a Corn Crake calling from the fields close to the path. We took the higher path into some woodland where Paul wanted to show us the entrance to a small cave only recently discovered. This was as far as we could go as the path was now underwater.






We drove on a short distance and parked along the road. From there we walked through some flower meadows to a bird hide overlooking the lake before returning to our vans and then back to our hotel.
Day 3 Thursday 6 June
We began the day with another pre-breakfast walk and we saw a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker.
After breakfast, we headed to the Javorniki Forest, stopping briefly on a hillside on the way to admire the view. At our first stop in the forest, we walked through a meadow and up along the edge of a deep hollow. There were lots of flowers and butterflies. At our second stop, we walked up a logger’s track, where we heard and briefly saw a Black Woodpecker. Stephen and I took a side track up a hill while the others headed back. At the top, we startled a male Red Deer that quickly ran off.






We had another splendid picnic lunch outside the Slovenska Bas Museum in Pivka, followed by a visit to the museum. Afterwards, we drove to Petelinjsko Jezero and walked down to the lake in the afternoon heat. Then, after a quick stop at a local supermarket, we headed to the tourist farm, Pri Andrejevih, in Narin for dinner. We parked in the village and walked up to the farm to enjoy the lovely setting and excellent food.





After dinner, Paul wanted to show us Nightjars, so we drove to a hillside overlooking the lake we had visited earlier. Although there were many flowers, I didn’t see or hear any Nightjars but others heard some.
Day 4 Friday 7 June
After another morning walk and breakfast, we set off for Rakov Škocjan, making a brief stop under the A1/E61 viaduct to look for Crag Martins.
Rakov Škocjan is a deep limestone gorge where water flows through cave systems under thick forest before descending into the karst. We started at Tkalca jama (Weaver’s Cave), where the River Rak disappears into the karst. We parked by the roadside and looked down towards the cave before walking up to the ruins of the Church of St. Cantianius. After a short drive further, we walked down to the river by the side of a bridge.





We then proceeded to a parking area with numerous trails and enjoyed a walk up to and over one of the many natural bridges in the area. Stephen then drove back to Postojna to pick up some group members who had spent the morning on their own. The rest of us squeezed into the other van and headed to the Cvinger viewpoint for lunch. Here we had stunning views over Lake Cerknica.



We reunited with Stephen and the rest of the group at a café in Hofer. From there, we all drove to a forested area near Nova Vas for a circular walk through the woodland. We spent some time relaxing in an adjacent meadow filled with flowers and butterflies.






In the evening, four of us had an early supper before heading out for a special visit to a bear hide. The visit was somewhat disappointing, but we did have a brief sighting of a bear.
Day 5 Saturday 8 June
We began the day at Mount Nanos, a large karst plateau that separates central Slovenia from the Primorje region. We parked up along a quiet road and slowly made our way up upwards and, at the top, crossed a plateau to the edge of the hillside.



The views were spectacular, and we saw many insects…






… and flowers along the way.



For lunch, we drove a short distance to a small hut to which Paul had a key. We ate at a table outside, joined by some Ornate Bright Bush-Crickets and a Common Wall Lizard. We watched the lizard as it finished eating a grasshopper, struggling to break off the legs that were sticking out of its mouth and then licking its lips once it was done.




After lunch, we stopped for coffee at Eco koča Nanos on the edge of the Nanos Plateau. Here we spotted an Aesculapian Snake.





In the afternoon, we drove back towards Postojna, taking a detour to an area near Senožeče. We walked up to a wind turbine on the top of the hill and the surrounding fields were full of flowers and insects, and we spotted a few birds too. The highlight was seeing a beautiful Green Lizard.
Day 6 Sunday 9 June
We started with a pre-breakfast walk to the village of Veliki Otok. After breakfast, we set off for Otlica in the Vipava Valley. We parked by a graveyard and walked through lovely flower meadows filled with Betony-leaved Rampion. Turning right, we ascended to a viewpoint where we spotted a couple of Clouded Apollo butterflies. There were several other butterfly species and a pair of rather large Bull Bush-crickets






Backtracking, we took the left path, stopping at a small shelter offering tastings of a local drink for a small donation. We continued to the Otlica Window (Otliško okno), a natural rock opening above Ajdovščina town. While enjoying the view, Paul brought some goats for us to see; they became a bit of a pest after a while.




We had a lovely walk and saw lots of beautiful butterflies along the way.





We had lunch at a picnic table near the graveyard and then went for coffee at a nearby café. Afterwards, we drove to Ajdovščina town for a short walk in a park to look for some Italian Sparrows. We then had some ice cream, as it had become quite hot.


Our final stop was at an observation point next to a small hydroelectric power plant at the foot of Navrše hill, where the Hubelj River springs from several caves. From here, we could look up at the area with the Otlica Window that we had visited earlier in the day.
Day 7 Monday 10 June
We began the day with another pre-breakfast walk to the village of Veliki Otok. During breakfast, a storm hit, bringing torrential rain that continued as we waited for our mini-buses. However, when we arrived at Koper on the coast to visit Škocjanski zatok Nature Reserve, the weather was glorious. We walked around the central wetland area with its various viewing points but the main lookout tower was closed. It was rather hot and quite noisy.



We had lunch by the seaside at Plaža Sv. Katarina in Ankaran, followed by a short walk along the shore.
The afternoon was spent at the flower meadows of Praproče. This was the most impressive flower meadow we had seen. It was covered in White Lace Flowers and a variety of other species.






The meadow was alive with butterflies and moths, making it difficult for us to leave.






On our way back to the hotel, we stopped for coffee at Café Viki Burger, enjoying the views over the valley before heading back to the hotel.


Day 8 Tuesday 11 June
Our final day started with a late breakfast and check-out from the hotel. Unfortunately, heavy rain began as we were leaving, altering our morning plans. To escape the weather, Paul took us to the Notranjski muzej (Notranjska Museum) in Postojna, which proved to be very interesting.
As the weather started to clear, we headed to Grad Haasberg for lunch. This site features the ruins of a 17th-century Baroque castle near Planina. We ate in a lovely barn filled with various old items on display. After our meal, the rain had stopped completely, allowing us to take a final walk past the ruins of an old burned-out building.








With our flight scheduled for the afternoon, it was soon time to head to the airport for our journey home.
The end
This was a very successful trip. We were extremely fortunate with the weather and it was nice to be in a small group where everyone knew each other and got along well..
Stephen, our Naturetrek guide, offered daily pre-breakfast walks and managed to find some interesting birds each day. Paul, our local guide, impressed us with his extensive knowledge of flowers, insects, landscape, and history.
Overall, it was an enjoyable holiday that showed us Slovenia’s natural beauty and biodiversity.
While the bird sightings were fewer than expected, the trip more than made up for it by the experience of Slovenia’s diverse natural environments, from karst caves to coastal wetlands and flower-filled meadows.
4 thoughts on “Wild Slovenia”
Kirsten – thank you for this splendid account of your visit to Slovenia, so well illustrated and described. My favourite is the goat; ‘I’m really the laird of this estate’.
Thank you, Kirsten.
A great reminder of the wonderful sights, flora and fauna that we saw.
Thanks Kirsten, I have been ‘invited’ to give a talk to the group on this holiday in early December and this sets out the itinerary and wildlife highlights very nicely. The butterfly IDs look good to me (there were some claims that a few were Eastern variants, let us see what Stephen comes up with). Cheers Peter
Thank you Kirsten. Such a varied account has enhanced the experience for me.I loved your photos recalling sights seen
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