Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Cerknica lies about 3km north of Lake Cerknica. Cesta 4 Maja is the main street in the
centre of town. The bus station is on Čabranska ulica about 100m to the southwest and be-
hind the post office.
Sights
Lake Cerknica
Since ancient times periodic Lake Cerknica (Cerniško Jezero) has baffled and perplexed
people, appearing and disappearing with the seasons.
Cerknica is a
polje
, a field above a collapsed karst cavern riddled with holes like a
Swiss cheese. The
polje
is fed by a disappearing river, the Stržen, and also collects water
underground from the Bloke Plateau and the Javornik Mountains. During rainy periods,
usually in the autumn and spring, all this water comes rushing into the
polje
. As the water
percolates between the rocks, the sinkholes and siphons can't handle the outflow under-
ground, and the
polje
becomes Lake Cerknica - sometimes in less than a day.
The surface area of Lake Cerknica can reach 29 sq km, but it is never more than a few
metres deep. When full it is an important wetland, attracting some 250 species of birds
each year. During dry periods (usually July to September or later), farmers drive cattle
down to the
polje
to graze.
The lake really begins at the village of Dolenje Jezero, 2.5km south of Cerknica, where
you'll find the
Lake House Museum
(Muzej Jezerski Hram; 041 561 870, 709 40 53;
www.jezerski-hram.si
;
Dolenje Jezero 1e; adult/child €6/5; demonstration 3pm Sat
Apr-Oct)
, with a 5m by 3m 1:2500-scale working model of Lake Cerknica. It shows how
the underground hydrological system actually works in a 45-minute-long demonstration
and video about the lake in the four seasons. There's also ethnological exhibits about local
fishing and boat building.
LAKE
Rakov Škocjan
Protected Rakov Škocjan is a 6km-long gorge lying some 5km west of Cerknica. The Rak
River, en route to join the Pivka River at Planina Cave, has sculpted 2.5km of hollows,
caves, springs and
Veliki
and
Mali Naravni Most
, the Big and Little Natural Bridges.
There are lots of hiking and biking trails through and around the gorge and it is surroun-
ded by Notranjska Regional Park. To the south lies the Snežnik-Javornik Massif, includ-
ing its tallest peak,
Veliki Javornik
(1268m).
GORGE
