Located in one of the most beautiful places in Slovenia, on a large alpine plateau called Velika Planina, these cozy cabins run by Alpine Resorts are a short walk from the nearest parking lot or chairlift, and the area offers various hiking options .
As the sun announced a new day, shyly emerging from behind the mountains, the ancient shepherds’ village made up of 64 charming oval wooden huts lit up in the most vibrant colors. First of all, the sun caressed the highest cabins, each surrounded by a pretty wooden fence where the cows rested after grazing. Then, slowly, the whole village lit up and the first purple flowers of spring playfully brightened up the freshly green meadows. A glimpse of paradise, I thought.
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Velika Planina and crocuses
My son and I arrived the day before with our dog and we were already settled in our mountain house in Velika Planina. We parked in the highest parking lot called Mačkin Kot and carried a reasonable amount of stuff for three days on our backs.
Beaming with happiness regardless of the weight on his shoulders, my son pedaled his bike with determination. His idea was to try his new bike on a 9km cycle path loop on Velika Planina and enjoy some carefree descents, while my idea was to hike and explore for three days. Evenings were reserved mostly for hanging out on the couch, reading or playing cards by the fire. My kind of vacation.
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Sunset at Velika Planina
After unpacking our bags and settling into the cabin, comfortably equipped with several bedrooms, a kitchen, a dining room with fireplace, a bathroom and a sauna, we head towards the hut Domžalski Dom. We ordered the hearty Slovenian mountain dessert called struklji and sat on a small perch behind the hut looking at the ancient shepherd village with the snow-capped peaks of the Kamnik-Savinja Alps in the background.
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The annual crocus exhibition, for which Velika Planina is famous, had started at the beginning of this year due to the unusually high temperatures in March and was already disappearing, showing here and there only patches of beautiful purple flowers. If you can time your visit well, you may be rewarded with stunning views of carpets of crocuses as a whole. planine turns purple.
However, Velika Planina is an amazing place with a long and interesting history and offers breathtaking nature whatever the season. After all, locals have been using these high-altitude pastures and their nutritious grass for thousands of years. Archaeological evidence on Velika Planina shows signs of human presence, most likely shepherds, as far back as prehistoric times!
As we enjoyed the warm early evening sun on the hillside, which cast a glorious light on the rolling pastures and playground of the sharp peaks behind, the shepherds’ village, on the other hand, slowly collapsed in the shadows.
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Sunrise in Velika Planina
The next morning the alarm went off, sending an electric shock through my body and the enthusiastic enthusiasm began to fade with almost every buzz. “Arghhhh, no!” After ten minutes of incessant buzzing, I finally realized that I was going to miss the sunrise if I continued to obey my laziness. In all honesty, getting up early on vacation is a nightmare, but as soon as I started running towards the shepherds’ village with the sky showing the first pink lines, I felt wonderfully overwhelmed and blessed to be able to wake up in a beautiful place like Velika Planina.
I nestled in a cozy spot between the old cabins and took a moment to appreciate the dream setting. The world around me was slowly waking up as dawn cast its first rays, caressing everything with a warm orange light. The snow-covered Chapel of Mary, which even today celebrates masses every Sunday, was first illuminated, perched on a small hill, and the rest followed, all bathed in the changing colors of the sunrise.
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Cycling on Velika Planina
After five minutes of rest and a hearty breakfast, my son and I set off to test Velika Planina as a cycling destination. Well, at least my son did, I, on the other hand, was busy maneuvering our curious dog between the crowds coming to see the last of the crocuses (advice to the wise: seriously, avoid visiting Velika Planina on the flowering weekends!). We took a wide gravel path that started from our cabin, passed the shepherd village of Velika Planina, continued to Mala Planina, then turned left at Planina Dovje Raven to cross the meadows to the shepherd village and finally reached our chalet. The 2 hour loop was a decent 9km and 250m of up and down.
Hike to Mount Konj
Those of you who love the taste of the high mountains will agree with me on this. Okay, Mount Konj is only 1,803m, but after two full days of green pastures, it was nice to feel the rock again, which this peak absolutely had. It also revealed a very close-up view of the high peaks of the Kamnik-Savinja Alps, which crown every postcard of Velika Planina. Along with neighboring Mount Rženik, it is also the highest point where one can hike from Velika Planina.
After breakfast and departure, we headed out on a windy and cloudy day to begin the 4.5 hour, 10km loop hike with 770m of ascent and 930m of descent. We passed through fairy meadows speckled with crocuses, comfortably hidden from the Velika Planina, forests with tall and healthy fur trees, three cute-as-a-button pastures, and finally reached the top of Konj. We could have easily walked another 30 minutes. so did neighboring Rženik, but nestling on the 360-degree panoramic summit seemed much more appropriate.
Looking at the dreamy highest peaks of the Kamnik-Savinja Alps, I thought back to our mini-vacation in Velika Planina and agreed that everything about our stay there was perfect. You bet we’ll be back!
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