The mysticism of the Slovenian underground and the life of Karst people
We will visit the Škocjan caves which are in the UNESCO list of world heritage sites. The unbelievable fairytale atmosphere which we experience when we enter the largest known underground canyon in the world is for sure a feeling we will never forget. We will drive you across the plateau that gave name to all comparable landscape shapes in the world. You will feel and understand how the inhabitants of the Karst in the past needed to be tightly connected with nature in order to survive. They struggled with lack of water and had to be extremely smart in order to collect and accumulate it. The most important role here is given to stone and water. You will observe how water changes the landscape and the stone by melting limestone. People also learnt how to modify stone so as to use it for construction. In the beginning it was just simple need for building material that later transformed into an awesome architecture art that we can now meet at every step. We will be invited in the cellars where they produce the famous Teran red wine, mature special cheese and store the dry-cured Karstian prosciutto ham. Here all food lovers and gourmets will drop the anchor and just get high on aromas.
Highlights
- The Skocjan caves – one of the largest known underground canyons in the world
- Pepa's Karst garden – includes typical Karst construction and the autochthonous vegetation, awarded at the world's most important horticulture events
- Visit of the stone-cutting workshop
- typical Karst architecture
- Štanjel – Medieval village – Ferrari Garden
- Countryside
- Hospitable local people
Excellent local authentic gastronomy
Program
Škocjan caves
The Škocjan caves are a natural heritage of international importance and as a treasure of the planet they have been placed by the UNESCO on the highest protection and conservation list. A unique biosphere where you will see all the karst phenomena. You will be taken over by the wild and mystical symbiosis of water and stone and understand why our ancestors believed in the miraculous supernatural powers of caves.
Dutovlje
We can't imagine our Karst itinerary without visiting Dutovlje. Here one can find Pepa’s Story Garden and Pepa’s Karst Garden, which are the two most genuine and most carefully preserved gardens, both highly awarded at the world's most important horticultural events.
Pliskavica
In Pliskavica we will meet the tradition of stone-cutting. We will visit one of the Karstian farms and stone-cutting workshops. Local farmers had small quarries here already back in the antique. They cut stone with great precision and transformed it into real works of art, then applied everything to architecture.
Štanjel
Štanjel is the oldest medieval village in the Karst and here we will be really taken over by the typical regional architecture. The soul of the village is represented by the castle and its defence walls, as well as the Ferrari garden. A real small ethnological gem is also the Karstian house, were we can see how fundamental stone was in their architecture, since almost everything on this building is made of stone.
Other information
Departure time can be agreed upon based on your wishes. We do reccomend starting at 8.30.
Departure location by agreement. We can pick you up from your local accomdation, meet at our agency in Kanal or other location that suits you.
145€
This is a day trip lasting aprox 11 hours.
Included
- Organization of the trip
- Departure and arrival at our agency in Kanal or at your accommodation or by agreement
- Travelling in comfortable air-conditioned vehicle
- Parking fees, local taxes, insurance
- Professional English or Italian speaking guide
- Bottled water during the trip
- Entrance to the Skocjan caves
- Entrance to the Pepa's garden
- Entrance to the stone-cutting workshop
Not included
- Other eventual entrance fees
- Food and beverage
- Tip
- We usually travel with small groups of max 8 people, by agreement we exceptionally allow larger groups of visitors.
- You can take with you some snacks, but it's not necessary since we are always passing by local inns and other providers
- Our day will be long so we suggest you to wear comfortable clothes and shoes and always take with you a warmer jacket. The temperature in the cave is 12 C˚.
Difficulty: Medium – a walk through the Skocjan caves (3km – a couple of stairs)