Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
All the tourist farms
(turisti
č
na kmetija)
in this region are a recent phenomenon.
During the Yugoslav era, people who lived here stopped farming and moved or com-
muted into nearby towns in the valley to work in factories. But Slovenia's industry
was designed to work as a cog in the Yugoslav machine—other regions provided
raw materials, and a large, ready-made market to buy the finished product. After the
Slovenes declared independence from Yugoslavia, many of the factories closed, and
the farmers-turned-workers returned to their ancestral farming ways. To supplement
theirincome,manyfamilieshaveconvertedtheirworkingfarmsintotouristfarms,in-
viting guests to visit, stay, and dine with them, and appreciate their unique lifestyles.
(I've listed several of these farms under “Sleeping in Logarska Dolina” and “Eating
in Logarska Dolina,” later.)Even though many ofthe farms in Logarska Dolina seem
as though they could be generations old, some date from only the mid-1990s.
The road along the Savinja River, and the Panoramic Road up above, are connected at both
ends—forming a handy loop that allows drivers to see everything efficiently. I suggest driv-
ingthePanoramicRoadfirst,togetagoodoverviewoftheregion,thenwindingdownalong
theSavinjaRivertoseethevalleys.(Ifyouhavebadmorningweatherthatlookslikeitmay
clear up in the afternoon, do the opposite.)
Route Tips for Drivers:
The town of Sol
č
ava is the gateway to the region and has the
handy and interesting Center Rinka. From Sol
č
ava, you can twist up to the Panoramic Road
(follow signs to
Podolševa
). At the far (west) end of this sky-high road, you'll come to a
fork: Going left drops you directly down into Logarska Dolina, while going right takes you
toward the Austrian border at Pavli
č
evo Sedlo, and a very rugged, gravelly loop around the
top, then bottom, of Matkov Kot (easy to miss—follow signs for tourist farms).
After visiting Logarska Dolina, take the Savinja River road back to Sol
č
ava. If you have
time, you can detour into the valley of Robanov Kot when you head south from Sol
č
ava.
