Stroll across the bucolic Velika Planina plateau

de fr

Velika Planina is one of the few preserved high-altitude shepherd villages in Europe. This beautiful plateau in the Kamnik-Savinja Alps is also renowned for its exceptional natural beauty. This breathtaking site is criss-crossed by numerous hiking trails. Its landscape is characterised by vast mountain pastures and numerous karst phenomena. A little paradise in the heart of the Julian Alps.

Details

n°297121
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 9.95 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 50 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 343 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 342 m
  • ▲
    Highest point: 1,615 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 1,287 m
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Photos

Wooden chalets
Diatonic accordion
Peaceful pastures
Beautiful alpine chalets

Description of the walk

Access: 5 kilometres before the Kamniska Bistrica station (start of the cable car), at the exit of the village of Stahovica, turn right towards Crna and Krivcevo. In the village of Podlom, turn right onto road 924 towards the Volovljek Pass (hairpin bend road). Once you reach the Volovljek Pass, stop to look at the large sign (map) and turn left onto the dirt road, continuing for a few kilometres to one of the car parks.

(S/E) Take the track that climbs towards Mala Planina. After a few hairpin bends and a steep climb, you will arrive at the plateau where the first traditional wooden huts welcome you.

(1) At the crossroads, take the track on the left, climb to the top of the hill and continue straight on to an inn where you can quench your thirst (Domžalski dom inn).

(2) Continue straight ahead towards Velika Planina and its charming Marija Snežna chapel, which you can already see.

(3) Turn right to stroll through the village and discover its magnificent shepherds' houses. Ignore the three paths that go to the right and continue straight ahead (on the other side of the village) towards the cable car.

(4) At a crossroads above the village, turn right towards the chairlift.

(5) When you reach the chairlift, enjoy the scenery (you can take a break at the Gostiše Zeleni Rob inn). Return by the same route to the previous crossroads.

(4) Continue straight on to the village.

(3) Continue downhill along the same route as on the way up to return to the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 1,291 m - Parking
  2. 1 : km 1.89 - alt. 1,484 m - Mala Planina
  3. 2 : km 2.57 - alt. 1,535 m - Domžalski dom
  4. 3 : km 3.54 - alt. 1,549 m - Velika Planina
  5. 4 : km 4.47 - alt. 1,593 m - Crossroads before the chairlift
  6. 5 : km 5.17 - alt. 1,602 m - Gostiš?e Zeleni Rob inn
  7. S/E : km 9.95 - alt. 1,287 m - Parking

Notes

A cable car provides daily return trips to the Velika Planina plateau throughout the year. The lower station of the cable car is in Dolina Kamniške Bistrice, near Kamp Alpe, and the upper station is in Šimnovec, near the Gostiš?e Zeleni Rob inn (the return trip costs around £15 per person).

Worth a visit

In the shepherds' village, you can see a museum collection at Preskarjeva bajta (open during the warmer months).
At the shepherds' cheese makers, you can periodically buy dairy products, including cheese. The Marija Snežna Chapel is also one of the village's sights worth seeing.

Reviews and comments

4.7 / 5
Based on 8 reviews
Reliability of the description
4.5 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.5 / 5
Route interest
5 / 5
luc et laurianne
luc et laurianne

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 15, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Hike completed on 15/07/2023 with three children aged 8, 10 and 12

Hello

We paid €7 for parking, which is ideally located for the start of the hike.
We quickly left the marked trail and used the software's map to do a 12km loop on the plateau. No difficulty. Apart from near the villages, where there were a few people but it was still very bearable, we encountered very few hikers. We had a picnic at the Mala and Velika Veternica caves, where we were alone. The coolness of the snowfield was very pleasant.
A very beautiful and enjoyable hike.

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Nemo1--'
Nemo1--'

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 09, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Hello,
We have just completed the route as indicated, with a few variations.
At the fork in the road between Mala planina on the left and Vekika planina on the right, do not be intimidated by the car park attendant and continue towards Mala planina.
In my opinion, you should not go to point S/E, even if it saves £7 for a car.
stopping at the car park just before allows you to take the path through the beech forest that starts just above the ticket machine (€5, €10 and €20 notes accepted) and discover Gojska planina as well. The path is marked (red circle with a red dot in the centre) and shaded through the beech forest until it leads to the hamlet.
It is possible to park higher up, at your own risk, and many Slovenians do so to avoid paying the parking fee, but in that case, the climb can only be done via the unattractive road and you arrive directly at Mala Planina.

This hike is best done early in the morning, as it is very touristy and much more pleasant when there are no crowds and it is not too hot, as there is little shade on the mountain pastures.

This is my favourite hike during this first week in Slovenia.

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pierra3
pierra3

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 24, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A very pleasant and easy hike, ideal for warming up. A few tourists arrive by cable car at the end, and there are places to eat on the plateau serving local produce.

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Ninou741
Ninou741

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 18, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Very nice walk.
We couldn't find the car park indicated, but there are others on the way to the plateau. However, when we went there, they were all pay-and-display.

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Mil0ut3
Mil0ut3

Thank you for your feedback!
And yes to ticks!

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Kélig07
Kélig07

Hello,
We left the car in a car park along the track. But there are two other places where you can leave your car. There are plenty of car parks that are very easy to find.
Have a good trip.
Michel
PS: In Slovenia, it's better to wear long trousers than shorts; Slovenian ticks are quite nasty.

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Mil0ut3
Mil0ut3

Hello,

In preparation for my summer holidays, I am planning to go on this hike.
I had a question about the car park at the starting point.
On Google Maps, you can see where you started, and I don't really see a car park, just a wide track and a bend.
Is there really a car park, or should we park at the side of the track? It seems too narrow to let other vehicles pass and then turn around.

Thank you in advance for your reply.

Emilie

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Kélig07
Kélig07

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 04, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Magnificent!!! This hike alone is worth the trip to Slovenia.
It's an easy hike, best done on a day when there's no fog. Despite the number of "tourists" (many arrive by cable car), the size of the plateau means you can avoid the crowds and often find yourself alone. We even treated ourselves to a little concert of traditional Slovenian music played on a diatonic accordion and clarinet by a farmer and his son.
This place steeped in history remains one of our fondest memories of this beautiful country.

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mioran
mioran

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 04, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

It's a place worth visiting!!

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JPDaddy
JPDaddy

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 27, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Superb hike, very well documented.
If you don't take the cable car and climb up via Mala Planina, there are very few people until you reach the Domzalski Dom hostel.
After that, there are many more hikers until you reach Velika Planina.

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mloï
mloï

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 13, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A good solution to avoid the cable car.
On the plateau, we were able to make a circular loop to return to the car.
Y

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