The team is back together after completing the GR5 in 2023. We have decided to move further East this year after two years walking in France. The Juliana Trail is a 270km long distant hike around the Triglav national park in Slovenia. We only have seven days to walk this year so have chosen the seven stages from Bled in the East to Tolmin in the South (see map) - about 124km. We are walking in mid-September 2025 in order to avoid crowds and get some cooler weather - both successfully achieved. Walking is not as tough as the French Alps although we still have some quite long days and steep climbs up to around 1300m. The stages mostly end in towns or villages at around 300-500m above sea level.
Our trip is organised through the Juliana Trail booking centre who do a fabulous job arranging accomodation and transport. Several of the hotels we stayed in were very plush - a big difference from a French climbing hut. On other stages we had comfortable flats or homestays and in one case had to take a train to and from the accomodation to even out the distances walked. The booking centre will arrange for your luggage to be moved as well although we travelled light and carried all our gear.
Bled Island in Lake Bled
Our walk starts alongside the very famous Lake Bled. John and I have already spent 3 days exploring Ljubljana and Bled with our wives trying to understand the complex history and economy of this small country. Slovenia has a population of around two million. It has been ruled by the Romans, Ottomans, and Austro-Hungarians. It was on the wrong side in two world wars - we see complicated explanations of the Isonzo Front where several battles were fought against the Italians in WW1. After WW1 it was briefly a kingdom and then joined Jugoslavia under Tito after WW2. It declared independence in 1990 and was the first former Jugoslavian state to join the EU in 2004. It is now a prosperous and successful country - very evident in the beautifully maintained villages and towns that we walk through.
We walk to the NW end of the lake by the national rowing club and then follow a steep path up to the station. We then follow country roads for quite a while through tidy villages, trees laden with apples, pears and damsons, and past churches with spires and onion domes. Adam likes his coffee stops and we find one of the only ones on the route in Zgornje Gorje. The busy road changes to a footpath through a quaint village with old wooden houses. A farm road then leads into the entrance to the Pokljuka Gorge. We climb up through beech forest and the gorge narrows through high limestone walls. A very improbable path leads up through a limestone arch to the woods above the gorge. We then follow forest trails through the woods for quite a way passing groups of children and ferocious guard dogs.
The trail eventually opens up into a clearing with a small hamlet - Planina Kranjska Dolina and then some quite busy forest roads until we reach another hamlet with a very jolly tea shop and views of the peaks. A local curd cheese (skuta) is on sale here but we settle for beer instead! It's been a long day. After another three km we reach our hotel - formerly called the Sport but now renamed Pokljuka after the forest. It is large and comfortable, catering for walkers and bikers in the summer and cross country skiers in the winter. We are disappointed with the very bland food - perhaps we ordered badly. We eat much better later on the trail.
Setting off up the road, the cave/arch in the Pokljuka gorge
Planina Kranjska Dolina, Jolly bar/tea shop at Planina Jvornik
We leave the Pokljuka hotel after a decent breakfast and head off through more woods and marshes. We pass quite a few wooden holiday cottages and a dramatic war memorial to the partisans (again one of many). For six km we head SE on forest roads and footpaths with clearings and valley views before swinging N in a very pretty valley. Goats are attacking a pumpkin patch. Adam is in luck as we find another cafe for a coffee stop. From here paths and roads lead us up to a lookout where we get fabulous views of mountains and limestone karsts with Lake Bohinjsko in the distance. Then a steep descent on a wet, bouldery path to the pretty village of Jereka. As we stop for soup and sandwiches John discovers that a shoe has fallen out of his pack. He searches in vain back along our route for 20 mins.
It is still 6km on road and footpaths to our first destination of Stara Kuzina. The views are spectacular - see header at top of page. Stara Kuzina is officially the end of the stage and we stop here for a beer before crossing the bridge and walking to the lake with some chatty ladies from Colorado. We enjoy the view and pass promenaders at the lakeside and soon reach a very smart and modern hotel in Ribcek Laz - the Jezero. While we are enjoying the busy buffet supper, two German walkers, Martin and Christiana, find us and present John with his shoe wrapped in a bow of loo paper! They found it on the trail!
Typical barn with drying rack for hay, Jereka village
Mountains and Lake Bohinjsko from viewpoint
Lake Bohinjsko, John gets his shoe back from Martin
The stage from Ribcek Laz to Bohinjka Bistrica is very short and the weather forecast for tomorrow is terrible so we decide to walk two stages today. The route to Bohinjka avoids the main road by following smaller roads and footpaths along the S side of the valley. We climb and descend several times past smart (holiday?) homes with great views. No coffee stop for Adam today but we do divert to a bakery to buy sandwiches for lunch. After a pretty riverside walk where we get a glimpse of Triglav, the highest mountain in the area, we head up the hillside behind the town. This is our toughest climb so far - first up steep hillside for 2km and 300m. Then the path eases a bit and we follow a good forest road to just below the top. One last push and we are on the col where we stop for soup and sandwiches. Two mistakes here - we miss that it is only a small climb to a great lookout, also had we walked just over the col we would have found a climbing hut with a picnic table and fine views.
A steep path leads down from the climbing hut but soon changes to a good zigzag trail through beech woods. Well made stone walls support the hillside and there are fine views of churches and villages. A fire salamander slowly crawls off the path into its hole. At Baca pri Podbrdo we admire a pretty church and fill our water bottles before the final descent to Podbrdo. We have just time for a quick beer in the local pub before catching the train for an 8 minute ride back under the mountain that we have just climbed over! Locals are also loading cars onto a car train through the tunnel to avoid a 30+ km drive. Back in Bohinjka Bistrica we find our smartest hotel yet - Bohinj Eco Hotel - for another good dinner after the boys have swum in the lake.
Valley views, riverside in Bohinjka Bistrica
Trail descending to Podbrdo, Fire Salamander
Next day we feel vindicated as the rain arrives and the clouds roll in. We visit the museum and church and lunch in town before catching the train back to Podbrdo and tracking down our accomodation - a spacious building next to the church with honesty fridge and friendly host, Devina. She checks that the Brunarica Slap restaurant above the village is open and we trek up there in the rain for a fine dinner of local trout from the fish farm next door. New German friends Martin and Christiana join us again for wine and chat. He works in the Hague and she in Köln - both play the saxaphone!
For part 2 of this write up of our trip please click here.
Baca pri Podbrdo