Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
lodge in 1680. Built in the shape of a cross, with arcaded hallways and a raised central
area, the main hall is covered in wonderful frescoes. The manor's wine cellar now houses
the
Gostilna Pri Lojzetu
( 040 777 726, 368 70 07; mains €18-27, 2-/3-course menus
€20/40; 5-10pm Wed & Thu, noon-10pm Fri-Sun)
, a luxurious restaurant. Have a
peek at the baroque murals near the entrance; they portray a phoenix and a subterranean
cave, symbols of fire and water. In Vipava, a winery worth visiting is
Vipava 1894
(
367 12 00;
www.vipava1894.si
;
Vinarska cesta 5)
, the largest in the valley.
In
Branik
, look up for a glimpse of
Rihemberk Castle
(Cesta IX Korpusa 46)
, which
dates back to the 13th century and has a dominant cylindrical tower in the centre, but is
not open to the public. Some 6km to the southeast is the walled village of
Štanjel,
with its
own castle containing a restaurant and a gallery. There are also the magnificent Ferrari
Gardens to the north. Just west of the centre you'll find the
Tourist Information Centre
Štanjel
(TIC; 041 383 986, 769 00 56; tic.stanjel@komen.si; 10am-6pm Tue-Sat,
2-5pm Sun May-Oct, 10am-4pm Tue-Sat Nov-Apr)
, but the areas with the most to see and
do are to the south.
About 10km southwest of Štanjel and 12.5km northwest of Sežana is the fabulous
Mladinski Hotel Pliskovica
( 041 947 327, 764 02 50;
www.hostelkras.com
;
Pliskovica 11; dm €14-16, d €36; )
, a hostel with six rooms and 45 beds purpose-built
into a 400-year-old Karst house. It has a kitchen, laundry room, free use of bicycles and is
open year-round.
Getting There & Away
Buses departing from Nova Gorica for Postojna every two hours or so pass through
Vipava (€4.10, 50 minutes, 34km). Three buses a day at 10.40am, 2.18pm and 3.30pm
link Sežana (€2.70, 30 minutes, 18km) with the Mladinski Hotel Pliskovica.
Trains between Nova Gorica and Sežana serve Štanjel (€2.20, 40 minutes, 24km) and
Dutovlje (€2.90, 50 minutes, 31km), 4.5km east of Pliskovica, six times a day on week-
days and twice at the weekend.
ŠKOCJAN CAVES
05 / ELEV 424M
The immense system of karst caves at Škocjan, a Unesco World Heritage site, easily rival
those at Postojna, and for many travellers, a visit here will be a highlight of their trip to
Slovenia - a page right out of Jules Verne's
A Journey to the Centre of the Earth
.
The Škocjan Caves, 5.8km long and 250m deep, were carved out by the Reka River,
which enters in a gorge below the village of Škocjan and eventually flows into the Dead
