The Julian Alps, Slovenia - Independent Walking Holiday

Don't Miss

The small market town of Kobarid is home to an award-winning museum focusing on the battles during WWI. The Soča river and its tributaries are superb for organised activities like white-water rafting, canoeing, hydrospeed and canyoning, which can be arranged locally. It is also possible to fish for the marbled trout which is unique to these waters, or you could spend a day or two exploring by mountain-bike, following the cycling routes in your Handbook.



If you have a hire car you can explore further afield too. With advance warning, the inn at Drežnica offers tandem paragliding flights, and horse-riding can also be enjoyed. We highly recommend taking the car-train from Most na Soči to Bohinjska Bistrica, which enables you to visit the beautiful lakes of Bled and Bohinj for the day. A drive to the head of the Soča Valley really takes the breath away, culminating in 25 hair-pins to the Vršič Pass. If you wish to venture over the border, you could spend the day in the lovely Italian town of Cividale, with its medieval centre, Celtic hypogeum, Lombard temple, 15thC cathedral, and museums.

Getting there

You could stay during your holiday in the charming little hamlet of Koseč, a collection of traditional Slovenian houses and farm buildings, nestled into a fold of rolling meadowland beneath the southern slopes of Mount Krn.

Alternatively stay in the pretty town of Kobarid close to the turquoise Soča River. The town has a quiet charm, and a very attractive church. There are several food shops where you can also find local produce, and bars and restaurants.

• By Road Kobarid and Kosec are about 1.5 hours drive from Trieste (Italy), 2-2.5 hours drive from Ljubljana (Slovenia) or 2.5-3 hours from Venice (Italy). We can arrange for you to collect your hire car in any major town. Hire cars must be returned within the same country that they are collected from.
• By Rail This holiday can be reached by train from London in under 24 hours. Take the Eurostar to Paris where you can pause for dinner before boarding the night train to Venice, arriving in time for breakfast on the Grand Canal. We would be delighted to sell you your train tickets if you would like, as the process of purchasing international train tickets can be a bit laborious.
• By Air The closest airports are Trieste(1.5 hour's drive), Ljubljana (2-2.5 hour's drive) or Venice (2.5-3 hour's drive). Trieste is served by Ryanair (www.ryanair.com) out of Stansted, Birmingham and Bristol. There are flights to Ljubljana with easyjet (www.easyjet.com) out of Stansted, and from Gatwick, Manchester and Dublin with www.adria.si.
  Flights to Venice are available from a wide range of UK airports with a number of airlines (details available on request).
• By Sea

Why do we like them?

Upland Escapes are the perfect choice for walking holidays and hiking breaks around Europe. Combine interesting, often unique destinations, maximum flexibility and true expertise in all the areas they work, and you have got yourself a recipe for a memorable walking trip indeed. You couldn't expect to find a friendlier team, and we can't wait to meet them in their Cotswold farm-office!

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What do they say?

Upland Escapes offers flexible, independent walking holidays in spectacular upland scenery - the sort of pristine mountain landscapes that we (three otherwise down-to-earth, matter-of-fact sort of people) find make our souls sing! Upland Escapes are designed to be suitable for everyone, regardless of your fitness levels or walking experience. You really can walk as much of as little as you like – or not at all. We carefully identify small, simple villages, hamlets and small towns (not resorts!) in which to base ourselves, places which are relatively untouched by tourism, where traditional mountain ways of life are still in evidence and which benefit greatly from low-impact, sustainable tourism. From this base you can choose from a large array of different walks and other activities, designing your days to suit you and your travelling companions best, thus really getting to know the area as an insider, not as an onlooker or a passer-through. If you like you can join our resident Upland Manager and others on an organised walk, benefitting from their excellent local knowledge, contacts and experience, and you can also choose to receive our famous deli-style packed lunches, which we make using a wide selection of locally produced and often organic fruits and vegetables (often from neighbours’ gardens), meats and cheeses, breads and cakes, giving you the opportunity to really savour the flavours of the region. By buying locally, by staying in real villages in remote rural regions, by supporting small-scale, family-run enterprises and by exploring on foot (the most environmentally friendly form of travel) we can bring much needed business, significantly extend the “season” and all the while preserve and conserve the unique attractions of some of Europe’s most beautiful upland communities.