Slovenia - Eastern Europe - page 674

RAFTING & KAYAKING X Point (see above) offers all-inclusive rafting excur-
sions, with some four rapids (33 /$41 per person, including transfers); you'll spend

some 90 minutes on the water. Also offered by X Point, Hydrospeeding is a less tax-
ing option, which involves wearing a wet suit and gripping a hand-held navigational
board as the current sweeps you down the river.
SKIING & SNOWBOARDING High-altitude skiing in the Kanin Mountains is
popular and rewarding. Cable cars take you into the mountain ski areas from Ski cen-
ter ATC Kanin (Dvor 43; & 05/389-6310; 11 € /$14), just beyond Bovec. The cir-
cular cabin cableway offers hourly departures from the ski center starting at 8am; the
half-hour ascent takes you an altitude of 2,200m (7,216 ft.), from where there's
skiing in winter (Dec 20 to early May) and fantastic hiking in summer. There's a
separate Information Office (Trg golobarskih rtev 47; & 05/389-6003; Mon-Fri
8am-noon and 1-4:30pm, Sat-Sun and holidays 8am-noon). Note that while out-
of-bounds skiing is a possibility, it is dangerous, as navigation in the Kanin is difficult.
X Point can design a skiing program that takes in three different sets of slopes—on
Kanin, Kranjska Gora, and Vogel.

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5 The Karst & Slovenia's Tiny Sliver of Coast
An ancient word meaning “stone,” Slovenia is where the word “Karst” was first coined,
and refers to a rocky limestone plateau that links the So c a Valley to Slovenia's tiny
piece of Istrian coast. Here you'll find spectacular cave systems, the best of which are
the UNESCO-protected S kocjan caves; nearby is Lipica Stud Farm, where the glam-
orous Lipizzaner horses are sired.
Slovenia's Istrian coast stretches from the bottom edge of the Karst in the north to the
Dragonja River in the south, which creates the border with Croatia; this 46km (29-mile)
coastline has been a refuge for people since the 7th century, when the Roman Empire
collapsed, and the first olive groves and vineyards were established by people fleeing
marauders from the east. During the 13th century, these coastal principalities looked to
Venice for protection, and so began 500 years of Venetian rule, a period that has imbued
the port towns with a distinctive look and attitude that still today make this region a
most pleasant sojourn, and possibly the ideal entry into Croatia.
POSTOJNA & SKOCJAN CAVES
Slovenia's “Karst” landscape has hundreds of subterranean caves. Two of the most fas-
cinating (and best-exploited) cave systems are Postojna and S kocjan, both filled with
unbelievable limestone formations, and colored by different minerals, the result of
thousands of years of rainwater seeping through the surface of the earth into the
underground chambers. Over the eons, these drops of water have caused stalactites
and stalagmites to mushroom throughout these vast otherworldly spaces where under-
ground rivers, secret lakes, immense tunnels, and rock-hard formations that look like
melted wax form the backdrop against which an unusual albino creature has evolved
in almost complete isolation from life above the earth's surface.
ESSENTIALS
Postojna is situated roughly midway between Ljubljana and the Slovenian coast. Take
the Ljubljana-Koper Highway, and follow the signs at Postojna. S kocjan is much
nearer the coast, also easily reached using the highway. Trains from Ljubljana reach
Postojna and Diva c a, near S kocjan. There is parking and information at the entrances
to both sets of caves.