Route 1 The high alpine at Uskovnica
Route 2 In the foothills of Črna Prst
Route 3 Across the Jelovica Plateau
Route 4 To the Crone’s Tooth
Route 5 Grahovše circular
Route 6 Lake Zgornje
Route 7 Peč and the three borders
Route 8 Kranjska Gora circular
Route 9 Kobarid and the River Soča
Route 10 Stol epic
Route 11 Kobarid and the River Nadiža
Route 12 Stol and the long descent
Route 13 Planina Razor
Route 14 Most na Soči Široko
Route 15 The war memorial at Trnovo
Route 16 The dark forests of Trnovo
Route 17 The industrial heritage of Črni Vrh
Route 18 Javornik
Route 19 The Wine Region of Kras
Route 20 Komen and its surrounds
Route 21 Postojna classic
Route 22 Lake Cerkno and the caves of Rakov Škocja
Route 23 Lake Cerknica circular
Route 24 Dolenjske Toplice and the Partisans’ forest
Route 25 Dolenjske Toplice and Soteska
Route 26 Velika Planina
Route 27 Menina Planina
Route 28 Jesenovo and Krvavica
Route 29 The churches of Čreta
Route 30 The nature reserve of Pohorje
Route 31 Maribor and its surroundings
Route 32 The Maribor downhill park
Route 33 The Najevnik Linden Tree
Route 34 The three valleys route
Route 35 Peca
Appendices
Appendix A Slovenian language
Appendix B Accommodation
Appendix C Useful information
ROUTE SUMMARY TABLE
INTRODUCTION
Looking back at the Julian Alps from near the summit of Stol (Route 12)
Shhh! Don’t tell anyone. I’m going to tell you a secret. There’s a country slap in the middle of Europe that’s beautiful, modern and well-developed, cheap to visit and that has some of the best mountain biking in the world. Oh, and it’s beautiful – did I mention that? For some reason, however, most people planning their European holidays – especially those planning a biking trip abroad – mysteriously and unforgivably overlook Slovenia.
Those of you used to the beautifully groomed purpose-built trails of the UK, and maybe an annual trip to Spain or France for your yearly hit of rugged heights, may have certain questions to ask of a guide to Slovenian mountain biking. Not least of these might be, ‘Why Slovenia?’ and a supplementary query might be, ‘Where is it?’. But this tiny country, nestled between Austria, Italy, Hungary and Croatia, has an enormous amount to offer the mountain biker.
At about the size of Wales, Slovenia is not big, yet as anyone who has ever visited either of these countries can attest, size doesn’t always matter and small places can sometimes pack a surprising amount in. Within its compact area, for example, Slovenia can boast of three distinct climatic zones: Alpine (good for riding in), Mediterranean (good for relaxing days off and seafood) and Pannonian (good for wine and also for riding in). In amongst this, frankly, absurd abundance of climates can be found a huge variety of landscapes, from limestone karst to deep forest, from high mountains to meandering rivers. Did I mention that Slovenia was beautiful?
On the Soča riverside trail (Route 10)
The Slovene people take all this nature very seriously. They are an outdoor nation and they punch well above their weight internationally in many sports, but especially in mountaineering, skiing and, of course, cycling. Conservation is also important to this country: around 50% of the land is covered in forest and much of the rest has been preserved to a very high degree. As a consequence, there is a great profusion of plant and wild life. To Britons, whose largest wild mammal is the red deer
