There are moments. You know, we are talking about those moments when we look at the “x places you should see before you die” lists that we keep seeing on the internet and say “how many places to see in the world” and when we are enlightened about how small a place we occupy in the world.. We lived those moments many times during our trip to Slovenia.. But one of the places we lived most clearly was one of the least popular places for tourists in Slovenia; Kamnik and Velika Planina. When you enter a small-scale research process about Slovenia, you may come across suggestions that the places you must see in the Places to visit in Slovenia list are places such as Ljubljana, Piran, Bled, Skocjan and Postojna Caves, and the Soča River.. Yes, these places definitely deserve to be on that list.. However, this does not mean that regions like Kamnik should be bypassed.. Because, similarly in many countries around the world, a small town like Kamnik is actually one of the places that most accurately reflects the originality of Slovenia’s culture and the wonder of its nature.. Now let’s give you a little praise of Kamnik and Velika Planina.
Helpful tip before we start our Slovenia Attractions notes: Ljubljana Tourist Office, which allowed us to explore this region and charted a wonderful route for us. We would like to express our gratitude to Turkish Airlines for supporting our trip, to our new friend Peter, who tolerated all our questions and all kinds of jokes for 2 full days, and guided us tirelessly.
How to get to Kamnik and Velika Planina
*First of all, let’s talk about the location of these two places so that you don’t get confused.. Kamnik, a town surrounded by the Kamnik-Savinja Alps with a total population of around 30,000, located 23km from Ljubljana. Although it covers a larger area due to the fact that the surrounding areas are also connected to Kamnik, in fact, the center has only a population of around 10,000 and the places to visit, which we will detail below, are very close to each other.. If you are coming from Ljubljana, the easiest way to reach here is by car – as you can imagine if you have read our previous articles.. Because although you can reach the center by train, it may be difficult to reach the places you will visit around by public transport, especially in the interim periods.
*The Velika Planina we are talking about is A shepherd village of Kamnik, one of the most visited places in the region, located in the middle of the mountain at an altitude of about 1600m. Yes, it may not mean much when you say shepherd’s village, but we will explain that part in detail below.. To reach this hill, you first need to take a funicular located approximately 10km from Kamnik centre, and then either do a half-hour climb or take the cable car. It takes about 15 minutes by car from Kamnik to get to the point where the funicular is located, but if you still insist on not renting a car, you can also get there by bus from Kamnik in summer.. You can check the following site for details on the subject.
Places to Visit in Kamnik
*Old Town
As we mentioned above, Kamnik is actually a small town with a population of around 10,000.. In general, those who want to escape from the city life in Ljubljana prefer to live in the region.. Yes, even in a city as small as Ljubljana, there can be people who get bored.. In addition to being one of the important trade points of the region during the medieval period, Kamnik is known for being the home of a number of aristocratic families of Europe and a place where Bavarian counts settled in the medieval period.. We may not know it that way, we may not even know it at all, so these Bavarian brothers are popular there. Anyway.
The ideal point to start exploring in this region is of course the “Old Town” Area, as in many cities. If you don’t have much time here, here are a few places you shouldn’t miss on your time-lapse tour. The main square Glavni Trg and the streets around it, built by Plecnik, known as the Gaudi of those places, may be your priority. Of course, don’t visualize anything big just because we call it the main square, evaluate it according to the dimensions of this place.. Then, again, where these Bavarian earls settled at that time, 11. You can visit the ruins of the Mali Grad Castle, which was built in the 16th century and is one of the places where you can catch the most beautiful view of Kamnik and the surrounding mountains today.. Afterwards, stop by Sutna, one of the most beautiful streets of Kamnik, where you can see examples of medieval architecture.. One of the most striking buildings on this street is the Church of Mary Immaculate Church“. This is a church that was first built in the 1200s, but was later rebuilt several times due to damage, where the works of important Slovenian painters are exhibited.
-Located via Glavni Trg for a coffee and dessert break nearby. We can recommend strong>Kavarna Veronika.
-Also, where you can find many options from local products of the region, which can save you the trouble of buying gifts for friends or family who force you to bring something unique to Slovenia, located on Sutna We suggest you visit the >Zlata Pticka store.
-One of the best restaurants in this region where you can taste local food is definitely Gostilna Mili Vrh. This restaurant, located 2-3 km outside of Kamnik, is the perfect spot to get acquainted with Slovenian cuisine.. Our suggestion is to tell one of the employees that you want to taste different things and have a mixed plate in the middle.. It’s a bit of a Turkish thing, but they understand, don’t worry. Because from local sausages to cheese-filled buckwheat pancakes, from meat to chicken, from potatoes to asparagus, everything is incredibly delicious! From time to time, you can give reactions like “what a friend, this is the schnitzel we know, what’s the deal now”. The reason is that Slovenia is very influenced by the surrounding cuisines.. If you are as interested in food as we are, you can also check out our Ljubljana Food and Drink Guide.. The address of the restaurant is: Žale 10a.
*Kamniska Bistrica Valley
A little bit in the streets of Kamnik If you want to go to the part of exploring the nature, which we praised above, after wandering around, you can set your first stop as Kamniska Bistrica Valley.. You can spend your hours in nature in this valley, which is one of the most popular hiking routes in the region and stretches all the way to the Kamnik Alps, or if you wish, you can take a shorter time to enjoy the Kamnik Bistrica River, which is 33km long and flows through Kamnikyou can go to the places where you can see the springs (you can also find it as Springs of Kamnik Bistrica on the internet).
If you have a special interest in outdoor sports, if you don’t keep your outdoor shoes and clothes by your bedside, you can really go a long way in this valley. you can have a time. If you intend to act “we’re going to look at a friend and go out”, let’s take you right here; Dom v Kamniski Bistrici Mountain Hut. This is one of the most beautiful spots where you can see the source of the river and the starting point of the hiking route.. If you set off from Kamnik, you can reach here by following the Kamniska Bistrica signs to the end of the road.. At this point, you have to park your car and walk a little to see the river.. The first image you will see will be a small lake.. Yes, this place looks very nice, but if you go a little further inland (whatever, we’re talking about the green area), you will see other beautiful views, don’t give up right away.
– If you do not plan to go too far on this path, the road you will take to reach the point where you can see the river is not very strenuous.. However, the road can turn into mud, especially after it rains (he is eating a lot of quince, don’t look at what we write politely). So don’t forget to take a suitable pair of shoes with you.. Otherwise, you can muddy every place you enter for the rest of your trip and disgrace us all day.. Then these Turks should not say what a dirty friend, let’s not run from complexes to complexes. We said it’s not very difficult, but at some points you have to go under the trees or over the rocks, but be careful.. There’s no point in pretending you’re hiking every day of your life.
-As the snow on the mountains melts in spring and summer, the water level of the river rises and you may not be able to reach some points.. If there is a warrior in your group of friends trying to jump into the waters by saying “we go yeaeaaa”, try to prevent them by mentioning this information.. Because under normal conditions, the water should be at a level that should not prevent you from walking.
*Velika Planina
We discovered the town of Kamnik, we got to know a little bit about the nature of the region. , now it’s time for one of the most diverse places on the list of places to visit in Slovenia; Velika Planina. This is a small village located about 1600m high from the mountain and known as the shepherd’s habitat.. In fact, we can say that it looks like a small-scale Hobbit village.. Its existence is said to date back to prehistory, but houses 2. Since it was destroyed in World War II, the village was rebuilt and took its present form.. Here, there is a different atmosphere in summer and winter.. During the summer months, you can see that the shepherds living in the region sell their local products such as milk and Trnic cheese, which is unique to the region, hundreds of cows roaming around and crowds of people.. In other months, you can see an environment so empty that you think the houses have been abandoned by a zombie invasion, you can hear your voice echoing meters away, completely covered with snow, depending on the weather, people sledding in the snow.. Either way, this is a really interesting place, and it’s a place where you can see a wonderful view of nature no matter what month or weather conditions you go.. After all, we are talking about a village on the top of the mountain, surrounded by the Alps, how could it not be sympathetic? and it has a delicately erotic story. In the past, the farmers who came to the village to make cheese used to make the cheese in the form of breasts in order to show their loyalty, passion and admiration for them because they were away from their spouses.. Hmmm loyalty ok cnm…Hmm, a sign of admiration yes….If you eat…After all, this has become a tradition that continues to this day, and for this reason, cheese is served in 2 pieces in many places.
-If you want a little bit about this place If you want to learn more details, you can take a look at the Preskar Museum, which is open during the summer months.
-One of the most interesting places in the region, hundreds of people on Christmas night Mary of the Snows Chapel, which she climbed for mass.
–If you intend to take a meal or drink break in this area, we can recommend Zeleni Rob restaurant. It may be like the name of a Serbian metal band known to only 18 people, but we think you would like it if you knew it.. After getting off the cable car, you may want to see this place and where else can we find a restaurant on the top of the mountain, but you may want to sit directly, but we still try to make you feel like you have a choice.. This is a very good choice to try typical dishes of the region.. If you have decided to stop by here after spending some time in Slovenia, you may be saying, “Enough local food, offer us Italian” at this point.. But as you may have noticed, Slovenian cuisine is not a country that serves stomach-wrenching dishes like horse meat or pork gut.. Local food tastes good enough for many people.. We don’t know if you want to fill your stomach with these, but if you want to try a few specialties here, cheese filled dessert Sirovi Struklji, Sauerkraut stew that looks like pickles Jota, buckwheat with fried hamZganci Zocvirki from the specialties here. Open from 08:00 to 18:00 in summer, until 16:00 in other months.
–If the weather is very foggy or rainy, the funicular and cable car may not work.. In this case, reaching the top requires serious walking and climbing that will cause you to give up.. If there is a situation where the funicular works and the cable car does not, you can walk to Velika Planina for about 30-40 minutes from the point where you get off the funicular.. Be patient, comrades, if the expected moment will come, the ordeal is sacred. Follow the signs for Kamniska Bistrica to reach the point where the funicular is from Kamnik. Its location is on the main road, about 3km before the above-mentioned Dom v Kamniski Bistrici Mountain Hut. The fee for the funicular + cable car is 15 Euros round trip..
-Because this place is on the top of the mountain, the weather can be uncertain.. For example, when we went out in May, it was snowing and the weather was close to 0 degrees.. Knowing that we were going to go to the mountains because we are imbeciles, we went back to Jack Nicholson in Shining when we went with thin clothes, we did it, you don’t. Don’t forget to take one of your clothes here, just in case.. In addition, the mud situation we mentioned above applies here as well, so choose your shoes accordingly.. Then my white sneakers got dirty, please don’t walk around without my Air Max so I don’t give a fuck about my hipsterism.
In Kamnik Accommodation
We said it’s a small town, but you may have noticed. There is much more to see and do in this area than meets the eye.. Two types of excursions can be organized to Kamnik, which is like a paradise simulation for nature lovers; one. Accelerated exploration with a day trip 2. Enjoying the nature and calmness by staying in the region. We vote 2. We think we have made a point shot by using the option on the side.. Because even though it is only 20km from Ljubljana, this is a completely different environment from the city and it is definitely worth spending some more time on.. We are sure that when you set foot in Kamnik, you will understand what we mean when you suddenly feel like you are mingled with locals in a town in the middle of Slovenia. We stayed at /strong> and we were very satisfied in every way. We did not expect that we would be so pleased with the beauty of the facility and rooms in a more isolated area like Kamnik.. Even though it looks like you came to someone’s farmhouse by mistake when you look from the outside, the rooms are very modern and clean, and the nature view of the backyard is magnificent.. Since this is a place preferred by locals for weddings and events, its garden has gained a special reputation.. Country wedding trend is not just for us, friends.. You know, those country weddings where we don’t know what shoes to wear on our feet and we have to share our food with all kinds of insects because we will be in nature, we are talking about them.. But everything aside, the thing we enjoyed most about this place was the service.. Because Peter who runs this place is a real sweetheart.. A very caring host as well as extremely knowledgeable about the area (I think we wrote a poem about Peter without realizing it). Even if you are not staying at the hotel, you can also stop by the restaurant for a bite to eat or to get tips from Peter about the area.. The restaurant is only closed on Sundays, other days open for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Brother Peter, we have poured out about you because you do not understand what is written here, we hope you will not cause misunderstandings by using Google translate…
