Hiking is a very popular past time in Slovenia. One might even go so far as to call it a national passion and none more so than here, where I live, in the Gorenjska region, home to the Karavanke and the Julian Alps.
There are over 170 mountain huts in Slovenia and many people base their trips to the mountains around visiting one of the huts. The huts vary in their style, accommodation and the food and drink on offer. However, at the very least there is always a cup of warming local tea and some type of soup or stew available.
Whilst the food varies from hut to hut, typical food found in most of the Slovene mountain huts includes ‘jota‘ – a thick soup containing sauerkraut, and potato, ‘ričet‘ – a thick soup containing pearl barley and vegetables – usually these soups can be ordered with meat (sausage or other pork meat) or without (for vegetarians) and various types of sausage. For something sweet, the staple offerings include ‘jabolčni zavitek‘ – apple strudel and/or ‘palačinke‘ – pancakes. The food is pretty standard throughout the year, its isn’t seasonally adjusted, often due to the constraints of getting the food to the huts and the limited storage facilities within so even in the height of summer be prepared for steaming hot soup and comfort food!
Talking of food, you know you must be eating too much pizza when you actually end up having a pizza named after you, as I now have! Pizza Adele, as seen below, now features on the new menu at one of my favourite restaurants, Pizzeria Ema in Srednja vas pri Bohinju, where they have HUGE pizzas. I probably should add that I didn’t eat the whole thing – half lasted until the next day! Give it a try if your passing!
Woops, went slightly off topic there – back to mountain huts! Češka koča, located in the Kamnik–Savinja Alps, above Jezersko, has a very different appearance to the other mountain huts in Slovenia, due to it having been built by the Czech Branch of the mountain association, hence the name Češka koča, meaning Czech hut. It was officially opened in 1900 and has been renovated several times since then, but still retains its original appearance.
There are a number of options for reaching Češka koča. Together with 2 friends, we took one of the 3 paths which begin at Ravenska kočna (1080m) and climbs up to the hut at 1542m. The path is marked with the usual red and white circular markations and is easy to follow. The path begins rather steeply up through the forest and later, in places there are wooden ladders and a few exposed sections where this is steel cable to assist, but it is well secured and is not technically demanding.
From the hut, there are also a number of other tours that can be made, such as to hut Kranjska koča na Ledinah or to the peaks of Grintovec, Kočna or Skuta. However, all the paths from here are rated as ranging from partly to highly demanding and should therefore only be undertaken by experienced and well-equipped hikers.
This coming week, Lambergh Chateau and Hotel in Dvorska vas, near Begunje are hosting 2 events. On Tuesday its the Pool Party featuring night swimming, music and cocktails whilst on Friday, they are holding a Chateau Dinner. The theme for the 5 course dinner, with matching wines, is honey and there will additionally be music, storytelling and a visit from the Radovljica Beekeeping Association. More information about the hotel and their events can be found here – http://www.hotel-lambergh.com/en/
Adele in Slovenia 
Just a word to the reader about hiking in Slovenia and in particular about Adele. We were interested in hiking in the Julian Alps and found Adele through her blog. I had a numerous questions to ask and she was extremely helpful. She assisted us with plans and arrangements both prior to and during our trip. Her knowledge of the area was invaluable. We trekked across Triglav National Park staying at several huts. The mountains were spectacular and the huts made through hiking possible. We had a fantastic time. Thanks for your help, Adele!
Hello: My husband and I are planning a trip to Slovenia. How can we plan a hiking trip independently through Triglav National Park?
Hello Remeline,
In answer to your various questions here, via Facebook and via email, wild camping is not permitted anywhere within Triglav National Park other than at designated camp sites, of which there are none in the mountains, they are only in the valleys. Therefore, if you plan to do hut-to-hut hiking then you will have to stay at mountain huts. You can find a list of all the mountain huts on the website of the Slovene Mountain Association (www.pzs.si). Otherwise, the best and easiest way of planning a route is to get a map of the area and once you have it in front of you it’s very easy to see how to plan a route and the options for staying. Not sure when you are planning to come, however, but the mountain huts in the high mountains are still not yet open for the season, usually they open mid-late June. Regards, Adele
Hi, just came across your blog via trip advisor. Would it be possible to come up with a plan that involves 2 nights in hut/huts. Because of lack of time, that is all I would have time for. Given that i am a landscape photographer, I could not pass up on the opportunity to do some exploration in the area. Do you have any specific suggestion for a route that would involve only 2 nights and still give me some sense of the region. Thanks in advance.
Hi, nice to hear you have found my blog and hope you have find it of interest and help in your trip planning. I would suggest you visit somewhere like the 7 Lakes area, or Krn Lake, or Komna, perhaps. It’s easy enough to stay in huts for a couple of days. If you haven’t already seen it, this blog post should give you some ideas. Regards, Adele https://adeleinslovenia.com/2016/03/17/highlights-of-triglav-national-park/
Hello Adele. First, thank you for your blog, which is very inspiring and usefull. You should write a
book, as it is not so easy to find detailed information on hiking in Slovenie. Can I please ask you a question ? We are planning our travel to Slovenie next year and I have some questions. We are 3 families, with 5 adults and 8 children between 9 and 15 years old. Because of boy-scouts camps that cannot be missed, and that are all at different times, we only have 6 days that we can spend with the 3 families together. During that 6 days we would like to do a mountain hike with 1, preferably 2 nights in a mountain hut. Afterwards we definetely want to raft and do some light walks arround a river and in the river (playing, swimming). Can you recommend a mountain hike that we can do with children/teenagers ? They like hiking, but it should not be 3 full days of hiking and there should be some different things to see and do along the way. We prefer a mountain hut where we do not have to bring food and can have a shower. So no basic huts. Are there any walks:huts that you would recommend us ? I would really appreciate if you could help. Because of the children, I want to be sure that we choose the right walks/mountain huts. Thank you very much for your answer.
Hello Goedele,
It’s nice to hear you have found my blog and it has been inspiring and useful for you. It’s always nice to get feedback from readers!
I will send you an email with more information regarding your specific enquiry. Regards, Adele
Hi Adele- thank you for all the information!
My friend and I are looking to do a backpacking trip for about 7 days. Are there any long distance trails that are well marked and take many days? We would like to stay in huts, and not pack much food.
We are hoping for early July. Can we book by emailing huts? We are just starting the planning process!!! I’m not sure if we are too late!!!
Hi Hilary, booking huts by email can be a bit hit and miss. The huts in the high Julian Alps don’t usually open until mid-end June, however, this year, due to much greater amounts of snow than usual, it could be even later. So, you are not too late to book huts, since they aren’t even open yet, and won’t be for quite some time. Regards, Adele