Train timetables can be viewed in the timetable search engine. You can see the map of SŽ railway networks on Map of Slovenian rail network.

Descriptions of places in a row:
Borovnica → Logatec → Rakek → Postojna → Pivka → Divača → Sežana

Borovnica

The municipality of Borovnica with a typical rural character is known for its once largest railway viaduct in Europe, which was demolished during and after World War II. The remains of a single pillar still stand in the middle of the town today. Besides that, Borovnica is known for its blueberry plantations and the traditional Blueberry Festival, which takes place every second or third Saturday in July. It is also a great starting point for bike trips.

We recommend a 13km long trip, which is also suitable for families with children. From the railway station, you can cycle through Borovnica to the Memorial Park, where you will see the only preserved pillar of the once mighty Borovnica viaduct, the largest structure on the Vienna – Trieste route. You will continue your way past the Deer Valley Viaduct, which is also a brick-stone arched masterpiece from that time. Today, it is the largest bridge of its kind, on which railway traffic in Slovenia still runs. Shortly afterwards, the path will take you to the mosaic plains of the Ljubljana Marshes. At the Borovniški vršaj water catchment, you will be able to quench your thirst with excellent water, and during the season, you can sweeten up a little further in the blueberry orchards. You will cross the Bistra River over the old bridge and after 6.5 km of cycling, you will reach the mighty building of the former Cistercian monastery in Bistra, where the Technical Museum of Slovenia is located. Among others, it features a traffic collection, which includes more than 100 bicycles and represents the entire history of bicycle development, and a collection of limousines used by the former Yugoslav president Tito.

Another possibility is to cycle through the town centre of Borovnica. After 5km of cycling along the idyllic Borovnica valley, you will reach the Pekel (“Hell”) gorge. In front of the well-known Pekel inn, which is famous for its trout, steaks, Chilean wines and the Peklenšček (“devil”) dessert, there is a big car park. From there on, cycling is no longer possible, and bicycles can be parked just behind the bridge leading to the inn. The trip through the gorge, where the water always hums (and sometimes even roars), and foams over five large waterfalls, and where even in the middle of summer it is fresh and cold, can be continued on foot – however, the path is difficult, equipped with ladders, wedges and steel cables. The ladders leading to the 3rd waterfall can still somehow be reached in ordinary footwear, but if you want to continue you hike, walking boots are recommended. The path can be circular and several variants are possible. It will take one to two hours, and the walk to the 2nd waterfall and back will take about half an hour.

In Borovnica, you can rent electric bikes of various sizes from ATM 24 (phone: 041 370 133; e-mail: [email protected]).

For more information, visit www.borovnica.si or dial +386 1 750 74 60 (the Municipality of Borovnica).

Photo: Peter Svete anf Andrej Klemenc

Logatec

The earliest records of the town date back to Roman times, when it served as an important Roman outpost on the road between the towns of Aquileia and Emona. The town’s image is shaped by well-preserved traditional buildings typical for the region
and by Logatec Castle, which is 3 kilometres away from the nearby train station.

On the way to the castle the War Museum is worth a visit. The peculiarity of the museum is a collection of over 2800 different decorations from all over the world. The region is best explored by bicycle, while the many hiking trails, such as Notranjska
planinska pot, Jamarska transverzala and Jamarska pot Laze – Pokojišče or Logaška planinska pot (Logatec Mountain Hiking Trail) – offer a relaxing trip through the lush and green landscape. About 15 kilometres from the train station you will find
Planinsko polje, the last remaining karst plane in the area.

Adrenaline hunters can take a trip to Ženček Hill, one of the best training grounds in Slovenia for hang gliding, suitable for both beginners and advanced gliders. Alternatively, at 2 kilometres away from the train station, you can check out the

Aerodium wind tunnel, an indoor skydiving simulator where you can experience the sensation of freefall at in a safe environment.

More information:

Municipality of Logatec

T: 00386 1 759 06 33
M: 00386 51 353 916
E: [email protected]
www.logatec.si

Photo: Municipality of Logatec

Rakek

Rakek is a small town in the municipality of Cerknica, surrounded by beautiful karst nature. It is an excellent starting point for undemanding bicycle trips and pleasant stops. We recommend a 30-kilometre bike trip through the Rakov Škocjan valley and along one of the largest intermittent lakes in Europe, Lake Cerknica, a visit to a model of the lake in the village of Dolenje Jezero and a visit to St. Mary’s church in Cerknica.

Lake Cerknica, together with the picturesque sunken Rakov Škocjan valley and the underground treasure of the Križna jama cave, has been declared an internationally important wetland and one of the three Ramsar Sites in Slovenia, and due to its importance for the life of endangered birds, it is also a Natura 2000 site. The path by bike can be continued into the vast Notranjska forests, where you will soon enjoy the view of the Rakov Škocjan valley. The karst valley was created when the ceiling of a karst cave began sinking and collapsing. This is proven by the 42-meter Little Natural Bridge, the 37-meter Big Natural Bridge and two gorges behind them.

If you prefer longer trails, you can walk to the valley from the railway station along Kunaver’s path, named after Pavle Kunaver, who regularly led his students from the station to Rakov Škocjan. You can also extend the route for a few kilometres and walk to the western edge of Lake Cerknica, just above the Velika Karlovica sinkhole.

An event worth visiting: Carnival in Cerknica – every year from Fat Thursday to Ash Wednesday.

More information about cycling trips:

Cycling trips Notranjska regional park

Further information:

Notranjski regional park

Tabor 42, 1380 Cerknica

T: 00386 1 709 36 36
M: 00386 31 668 223
E: [email protected]
www.notranjski-park.si

Photo: Zoran Vidrih, Notranjska regionaln park and Jošt Stergaršek

Postojna

Postojna is the world cradle of karstology. The Notranjska Museum Postojna (600 m from the railway station) hosts the most comprehensive exhibition on karst in Europe – the permanent Karst Museum exhibition. Here you can touch the stalactites and stalagmites, and see the largest Slovenian castle treasure found in Predjama Castle. With a valid train ticket, you may obtain 20% discount on your entrance fee.

On a tour of the town, we invite you to the barber and hairdressing salon Ozbič, one of the oldest barbershops in Slovenia. In the legendary pink house on the corner, where the barbershop has been located since 1924, there are still glamorous chairs from the time between the two world wars.

Through the town centre, the path will lead you to a remarkable tourist attraction on a global scale and the most visited tourist cave in Europe – Postojna Cave. Only 2 kilometres from the railway station, with its 24 km of tunnels, galleries and magnificent halls, it is one of the most diverse cave systems in the world. It is also the only cave in the world with a double-track railway.

By bike, whether you are alone or accompanied by an experienced cycling guide, you can experience the varied circular Castle Bike Trail, which passes by many beautiful villages and churches. On the way, you can visit three medieval castles: Prestranek Castle, Orehek Castle and Predjama Castle. The latter has been sitting embedded into the rock cliff, 123 metres above the valley floor, for more than 800 years. Behind the largest cave castle in the world, there is a network of secret tunnels.

Planina polje (Planina plain), which is located 10 km away from the railway station in Postojna, is considered one of the most beautiful classic karst plains. If you visit it after heavy rains, you will be able to admire a beautiful scene when it turns into a lake. On the southern edge of the plain, there is Planina Cave – the largest water cave in Slovenia, which consists of various halls, numerous wonderful lakes and impressive dripstones. Many cave animals live inside including the largest population of the human fish in Slovenia.

Accompanied by an experienced hunter, we invite you for a walk in the woods, where one of the largest populations of brown bears in Europe lives. Bears and other forest animals can be safely observed in their natural environment.

In Postojna, there is a saying that “an empty sack cannot stand upright”, so you will definitely not be hungry. On the plates of local inns, restaurants and tourist farms, venison is combined with seasonal wild delicacies such as mushrooms and wild garlic. Home-grown vegetables are complemented by blood sausages and Slovenian pork sausages, as well as home-made dried meat and dairy products.

More information can be found at www.visit-postojna.si

TIC Galerija

Trg padlih borcev 5, 6230 Postojna
T: 00386 40 122 318
E: [email protected]

TIC Postojna

Tržaška cesta 59 a, 6230 Postojna
T: 00386 64 179 972
E: [email protected]
www.visit-postojna.si

Avtorji fotografij: Miha Dolenc, Peter Gedei in Tomaž Penko

Pivka

In the surroundings of the railway station in Pivka, remains of Iron Age settlements can still be seen. Due to its excellent traffic and strategic location, the Italians built several barracks there during the two world wars, as well as numerous forts on strategically important peaks above Pivka. Those were an integral part of the Alpine Wall, which stretched from the Bay of Genoa to the Kvarner Gulf. Pivka and the nearby barracks in Hrastje were one of the strongest points in the eastern section of the Alpine Wall. The barracks were later occupied by the Yugoslav army. They are now transformed into a museum –  the Park of Military History, which is located about a kilometre away from the Pivka railway station. Visitors can admire military vehicles, weapons, submarines, airplanes … and now they can also experience a flight simulator.

The bike path can lead you to The seasonal lakes of Pivka Nature park, which is about 4 kilometres away. At an air distance of 15 kilometres, there as many as 17 intermittent lakes, which is a unique phenomenon in Europe. You can visit the Ecomuseum of the Pivka Intermittent Lakes. Presentations of individual lakes also include the life of the locals living in this area, where there can be too much or not enough water.

Kalc Castle is situated near the source of the Pivka River, behind the village of Zagorje. The castle, of which only a single tower and some sections of wall are intact, was built by the noble house of Steinberg. Its later owners included the Auersperg family and the Slovene composer Miroslav Vilhar. You can walk past the castle, which stands among old linden trees, through a chestnut avenue. The Great Krpan Trail* also runs there.

*The Martin Krpan Legend: The legendary Slovenian literary hero Martin Krpan once wandered these places. His homestead was situated at Vrh pri Sveti Trojici, which is also a beautiful hiking point. Krpan was a tough guy, a muscleman and he wandered the world with his little mare. He was so strong he could lift the mare only with his arms and move her, if on the narrow trails the two were in someone’s way. On one of those such occasions, they met the emperor from Vienna. He was so impressed by Krpan’s strength that he asked him to come to Vienna and help beat Brdavs, a Turkish warrior. Martin Krpan headed to Vienna and truly beats the man, a task at which the entire imperial army had failed.

Pivka is situated below Javorniki, which form the largest forest massif in this part of Europe and offer home and shelter to three large carnivores – bear, wolf and lynx. As carnivores can sometimes be difficult neighbours, a new Dino Pivka centre on large wild animals has been set up in Pivka, where visitors can learn about the life of these animals, and the ways of coexisting with them, through VR glasses, augmented reality, via a “Beastbook”, movies etc.

More information:

Pivka Tourist Information Centre

Krpanov dom, Prečna ulica 1, 6257 Pivka
T: 00386 30 644 799
E: [email protected]

www.parkvojaskezgodovine.si/tic-pivka

Photo: Simon Avsec, Erika Kovačič and Park of Military History Pivka

Divača

The town of Divača is the main key transport hub in the Karst region. The Škratelj Home (Škrateljnova hiša), built in the 17th Century, which hosts the Museum of the Slovenian Film Actors and an exhibition dedicated to the famous actress Ita Rina, is a
good example of karst architecture style.

The region boasts many karst caves and sinkholes in the surroundings, which have been formed as an effect of the underground flow route of the Reka river after its passage through the Škocjan Caves (Škocjanske jame). The most famous one is the Divača Cave (Divaška jama). The near Risnik Cave, surrounded by the Divača Karst Nature Trail (Krasoslovna učna pot), is instead protected for nature conservation aims. East of Divača (“Dolnje Ležeče”), Ležeški Gabrk – the karst aviation center (“Kraški letalski center”) – is located.

Divača train station is a good starting point for a 4-kilometre bike trip to the Škocjan Caves. The bike path will lead you through rolling hills in a typical karst landscape. The beautiful Škocjan Caves Park awaits you in Matavun. The caves are a wonderful
natural monument of the park which, with their vast halls and a real underground “canyon”, conquer all visitors.

Inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1986, Škocjan Caves have been included in the UNESCO Programme “Man and Biosphere” and recognized as Karst Biosphere Reserve (2004); they are also part of the Ramsar Convention since 1999.

Škocjan Caves are also known for pioneering researches on the Karst underworld, for their rich archaeological finds, for their unique biodiversity and for their exceptional cultural heritage.

More information:

Municipality of Divača

Kolodvorska ulica 3/a, 6215 Divača
T: 00386 5 731 09 30
E: [email protected]

www.divaca.si

Škocjan Caves Park Information Centre

Matavun 12, SI-6215 Divača
T: 05 7082 110
E: [email protected]

www.park-skocjanske-jame.si

Photo: Borut Lozej, Škocjan Caves Park

Sežana

Sežana is the capital of the Karst, a town right next to the Slovenian-Italian border. From the train station, you can turn onto Kosovelova ulica (Kosovel Street), named after one of the most important representatives of the Slovenian historical avant-garde, Srečko Kosovel, who was born in Sežana. Passing the town park at the Old Castle, you will reach Kosovel Culture House in Sežana, which offers a variety of concert, dance, theatre and exhibition events and a rich film program. Past the Memorial Park, you will arrive at Kosovel’s Memorial Room, which takes you through the life and literary work of the poet. At this point, the seven-kilometre-long Kosovel Trail starts, and continues under the Sežana hill Tabor, and leads to Kosovel’s homestead in Tomaj through pine forests, past vineyards and karst villages.

Sežana is also known for the Sežana Botanical Garden next to Villa Mirasasso, built in the historical style, which is one of the most important garden architectural objects in Slovenia. Nearby, there is the largest Teran winemaker in the Karst, the Vinakras cooperative, which offers wine tastings in a large carved stone wine cellar built in 1861. In the nearby Karst shop of the Tourist Information Centre Sežana, you can buy local souvenirs and Karst delicacies and get a map of the town and its surroundings.

A variety of events and festivals invites you to visit the town all year round. Many sports enthusiasts are attracted by the first recreational running event of the season, the Small Karst Marathon. Every summer, young people and people who are young at heart are fascinated by Mladifest, which offers a varied sports, music and cultural program. Autumn in the Karst is marked by St. Martin’s Day, when you can enjoy the traditional St Martin’s Day feast and make a toast with the young wine.

Near Sežana, there is the world-famous Lipica Stud Farm, the largest Lipizzaner stud farm in the world and one of the largest cultural monuments in Slovenia, the story of which began as early as in 1580. You can cycle to Lipica through the Karst Living Museum. This ecologically important area, which is considered a treasure trove of karst phenomena, was declared the best thematic trail in Slovenia in 2017. At the edge of the area, the oldest tourist cave in Europe, Vilenica Cave, is located. The Vilenica International Literary Festival is named after it. Just a stone’s throw away, there is the village of Lokev, known for its oldest prosciutteria in the Karst, the Tabor Military Museum and a varied gastronomic offer. Above the village rises the hill Kokoš with a mountain hut offering local delicacies.

From Sežana you can also take the Karst Wine Road, through the stone Karst villages, past many winemakers and providers of other local delicacies. In Dutovlje, you can stop at Pepa’s Karst Gardens, drive along Teran Circular Trail, and in summer, you can take part in the most popular event in the Karst – the Teran and Prosciutto Festival. You can continue your trip towards the village of Pliskovica, where the over 400-year-old Slamčeva homestead (now a youth hostel) is located. The village is famous for its varied tourist and gastronomic offer and the Stone Festival.

More information:

Sežana Tourist Information Centre
Partizanska cesta 4
6210 Sežana

T: 00386 5 731 01 00
E: [email protected]

www.visitkras.info

Photo: Jošt Gantar, Marko Pleterski

Part of the CROSSMOBY project (Cross-border integrated transport planning and intermodal passenger transport services).

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