Outdoor Slovenia - Slovenia - page 56

CYCLING & MOUNTAIN BIKING
Cycling is a popular pastime in Slovenia and the country is an excellent cycling destina-
tion. Ljubljana is a bike-friendly big city, with marked cycling paths, an active bike-riding
population, and several rental outfits, including an innovative rent-as-you-go cycling
scheme, called Bicike(lj) ( Click here ).
The Slovenian Tourist Board publishes a brochure called Cycling in Slovenia , with in-
formation for on- and off-road biking. On its website, the tourist board identifies 14 areas
that it considers to be true 'cycling destinations', based on the existence of marked bike
trails, good signage, and rental and repair shops.
Mountain bikers will want to focus on Gorenjska and Primorska, particularly around
Bovec, Lake Bohinj and Kranjska Gora, the latter of which also offers free-riding possibil-
ities, where cyclists are whisked up the hill on a ski lift and then hurtle downward at break-
neck speed. Around Lake Bohinj, look for the topic Bohinj by Mountain Bike , available at
the tourist information centre, which marks out 15 routes, from family friendly to down-
right crazy. Another popular adrenaline destination is the Upper Savinja Valley in Štajer-
ska.
Slower, more scenic rides can be found around Lake Bled, and in the Krka Valley in
Dolenjska, which has become something of a cycling centre.
SLOVENIA'S LONE NATIONAL PARK
Slovenia has a few regional parks and a few dozen small 'landscape' parks, but Triglav National Park (Triglavski
Narodni Park; TNP), in the far northwestern corner, is the country's only true national park. Covering about 84,000
hectares (4% of the country's total land area), it's one of the European continent's largest protected natural land-
scapes.
The park's main attraction is Mt Triglav , which at 2864m is both the country's tallest mountain and the highest
peak in the Julian Alps range. In addition to this and several other peaks that top 2500m, the park boasts scenic wa-
terfalls, gorges, ravines, rivers, streams and the source lands of two major river systems: the Sava and Soča.
The national park straddles two Slovenian regions: Gorenjska in the east and Primorska in the south and west.
The border between the two regions lies just to the west of the Vršič Pass.
The main Triglav National Park Information Centre ( Click here ) is located in the village of Trenta, about 24km
south of Kranjska Gora along the Vršič Pass highway. In addition to providing general information on the park,
there's a small museum, a gift shop and a small restaurant.