Climate

Slovenia has three distinct climate zones; Alpine in the mountainous region, Continental in the northeast lowlands and sub-Mediterranean in the coastal region.

The Alps

The Alps - Slovenia is often referred to as ‘The Sunny Side of the Alps’. Visitors to Slovenia are attracted by its diversity, abundance of natural features and opportunities for activities in nature.
Slovenia has two Alpine mountain ranges; the Julian Alps and the Kamnik-Savinja Alps. In addition, the Karavanke mountains form a border between Slovenia and Austria, and a part of the Dinaric Alps also runs through Slovenia.

Slovenian Alps web page

Triglav National Park

Triglav National Park is Slovenia’s only national park and is the heart of the Julian Alps. The park is located in the north-western part of Slovenia and is named after the country’s highest mountain, Mt. Triglav (2,864m). It is often said that every true Slovene should climb Triglav once in their lifetime.

Flora and fauna

59% of Slovenia is forested. Wild animals, including brown bears, wolves, chamois and wild boar, are just some of the animals that roam the forests and mountains. Plant life is rich with almost 3,000 known species, of which about 70 of them, mostly in the Alps, are indigenous.
Photo: Aleš Krivec

Rivers

At 944km long, the Sava river - a tributary of the Danube - connects four countries; Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia and Bosnia. It has two sources in Slovenia, the Sava Bohinjka – which springs in Bohinj, and the Sava Dolinka – which springs from Zelenci in Kranjska Gora. Both sources meet at the confluence in Radovljica.
The stunning 136km-long crystal-clear emerald green Soča river flows through the Soča valley, from its source at Trenta, passing Bovec, Kobarid and Tolmin before exiting at the sea. The river and its tributaries are home to the Soča trout. Numerous water-based adrenaline-filled activities take place on the Soča river including rafting and kayaking, whilst fishing is also a popular pastime.

Slovenian rivers
Photo: www.slovenia.info

Waterfalls

Slovenia has over recognised 300 waterfalls, though in fact there are probably hundreds more. Some of the most popular and impressive are the Savica waterfall in Bohinj, the Boka waterfall and the Kozjak waterfall – both in the Soča valley, the Rinka waterfall in the Logarska dolina valley, the Martuljek waterfalls in Gozd Martuljek, and the Peričnik waterfall in the Vrata valley.

The Coast

Slovenia’s coastline is just 46km long, which equates to about 1cm for each of the country’s citizens! It is squeezed between Croatia and Italy and, though distinctively Slovene, the towns and villages on the Adriatic coast also have Italian undertones and both Slovene and Italian are official languages. The mild Mediterranean climate is pleasant year-round.

The Karst

A visit to at least one of the country’s caves is a must during your time in Slovenia. The Karst is a geological phenomenon where porous limestone rocks are shaped by rainwater, thus creating a number of sponge-like surface features which allow water to permeate and descend to shape vast and intricate cave systems. Slovenia’s Karst is home to thousands of caves including the UNESCO-listed Škocjan Caves and the world-famous Postojna Cave.

Bora winds

Bora winds are a phenomenon related to the coinciding presence of warm air in the lower regions of southwest Slovenia, together with stable cold air-masses over central Slovenia, which subsequently flow over the barriers which divide the regions occurring as strong, gusty, cold winds. Bora winds have helped to shape the landscape in these regions and, though they can sometimes wreak havoc, they also provide the perfect conditions for drying the locally-produced Karst pršut ham.