Slovenia has been recognized as the Hottest Destination of 2019 by Virtuoso, the global luxury travel network. The award was given during the 31st Annual Virtuoso Travel Week in Las Vegas, to an audience of 6,000 members of the luxury travel industry, representing travel agents, hotels, airlines and cruise lines from all over the world.
Slovenia is working hard on its image of boutique destination. (photo: Ana Pogacar)
Virtuoso bestowed some 20 awards from best river cruise line, to the best-curated travel partner or the most innovative lifestyle partner. Slovenia, represented by the Slovenian Tourist Board, took the hottest destination title.
Slovenia’s diversity and beautiful nature contribute to making it the Hottest Destination but the country is also famous for its warm and welcoming people, charming capital Ljubljana, numerous lakes, rivers and waterfalls, and in providing great value.
Slovenia has been recognized as the Hottest Destination of 2019 by Virtuoso.
Slovenia’s capital Ljubljana. (photo: Andrej Tarfila)
Triglav Lakes Valley in the Julian Alps. (photo: Ales Zdesar)
We wish you all a happy Easter and hope you have an eggstra special time!
A traditional Slovenian Easter breakfast. (photo: Spela Vodovc, Cook Eat Slovenia)
Although your average Slovene is not exactly a devout adherent to Catholicism, Easter is still a very important holiday in Slovenia. It’s celebrated in a very vibrant and cheerful way. People set their table with lots and lots of food and the essential colorful, decorated eggs.
Traditional Easter eggs from the Bela Krajina region of Slovenia, which you can admire at the Bela Krajina Museum in Metlika. (photo: Jost Gantar, slovenia.info)
The Planica Nordic Centre is located in the far northwestern corner of Slovenia, only a stone’s throw from the area where Slovenia, Austria, and Italy come together. Every year in the month of March, it hosts the traditional ending of the World Cup ski jumping & flying season, one of the most important events in Slovenia with tens of thousands of visitors.
Every year in the month of March, Planica is the venue of the traditional final event of the Ski Jumping World Cup. (Image by Iztok Medja, slovenia.info)
The renovated ski flying hill in Planica is ready for new records. As 254 metres is the distance still allowing a correct angle for landing, a new world record could be set in favourable conditions. (Image by Urban Urbanc, slovenia.info)
More world records were made in Planica there than anywhere else. The first person to ever ski jump over 100 meters did it in Planica, back in 1936. And the first person to make it over 200 meters also did it at Planica, in 1994. It’s for this reason that Planica is often referred to as the “mother of all jumping hills.” (Image by Iztok Medja, slovenia.info)
Ski jumping is a sport which officially started in Slovenia with the very first record and championship held in Bohinj in 1921. The first record holder was Jože Pogacar, who jumped a distance of 9 metres. In doing so he initiated the sport of ski jumping at Planica which has gone on to establish itself as the cradle of ski flying. (Image by Urban Urbanc, slovenia.info)
As early as the 1930s, Joso Gorec conceived the idea of a modern year-round sports resort, one which would attract visitors from near and far and which would become home to the world’s largest ski jumping hill. (Image by Iztok Medja, slovenia.info)
In December 2015, the upgraded Planica Nordic Centre opened its doors. of the upgraded Planica Nordic Centre. In January 2016, it will host the first race of the Cross-Country World Cup, while in March it will be the venue of the traditional final event of the Ski Jumping World Cup. (Image by Urban Urbanc, slovenia.info)
Kranjska Gora has long been the most famous ski resort in Slovenia. But it was a sporting event that made this charming Alpine village famous across Europe.
This weekend Kranjska Gora hosted the 58th Vitranc Cup in alpine skiing, featuring the giant slalom and slalom for the World Cup. (photo: Urban Urbanc, slovenia.info)
Today, the Vitranc Cup brings the world’s top skiers to Kranjska Gora. A part of the prestigious World Cup circuit, the annual slalom and giant slalom races are seen by several million viewers around the world and have made the tiny village famous well beyond the borders of Slovenia.
In the years after the Second World War, however, very few people outside Slovenia had ever heard of Kranjska Gora. It was then that a group of locals decided to organise annual ski races on the surrounding ski slopes. The event turned out to be a huge success and it soon began to attract foreign competitors.
In the early 1960s, the International Ski Federation decided to award Kranjska Gora a place on the world’s most prestigious competitive skiing circuit – an event ultimately became the FIS World Cup. In early March of 1961, men’s slalom and a giant slalom races were organised in Kranjska Gora. The Vitranc Cup, named after a nearby mountain, has been held every year since.
Nowadays, the Slovenian male skiers are again near the top of the world’s rankings and each year, several thousands of spectators come to watch the event that put a once unknown Alpine village in Slovenia on the international map.
Each year, thousands of spectators come to support the world’s best skiers. (photo: Urban Urbanc, slovenia.info)
Once again Slovenia is flooded by carnival masks. Already on Saturday entertaining carnival events with mask parades took place in a number of places, and the merriment will continue until the burial of Pust.
As a tradition, on Shrovetide Sunday some of the biggest and oldest carnival events take place across Slovenia. (photo: Matej Vranic, Fotokom)
Shrovetide, or Pust as it’s called in Slovenian, is the time of the year when the old takes leave, and the turn begins: the cold winter is ending, the spring and new life is on its way. It also concludes the past period, and announces the beginning of the new one.
The old people used to say that one should eat one’s fill for Shrovetide and anyone who doesn’t will starve all year round. It is the day for pork, and a lot of greasy pastry, buckwheat potica cake, bacon roll, and of course doughnuts and fried pastry typical for Shrovetide time. The times do change, but the old habits remain – including Pust doughnuts. It is something the merchants and sweetshops know how to take advantage off – these days you can buy doughnuts anywhere!
The Kurent is the most popular traditional carnival figure. (photo: Marko Sinkovec)
A few thousand people gathered in Cerknica, and Shrovetide figures occupied other parts of Slovenia, too. (photo: Marko Sinkovec)
The streets are filled with hundrets of carnival figures. (photo: Matej Vranic, Fotokom)
In Cerknica, the festivities usually begin a few days before Shrovetide, while the main carnival parade takes place on Shrovetide Saturday. (photo: Matej Vranic, Fotokom)
Each year, the masked groups, ethnographic masks and carnival floats present themselves at the Istrian carnival parade. (photo: Urban Urbanc, Sportida d.o.o.)
A wide variety of doughnuts can be found in most countries around the world but perhaps the best doughnut is to be found in Slovenia, especially at Carnival time. These doughnuts are certainly not small and nor do they have a hole in them – they are big, golden brown delights with a white ring around the “waist” of the doughnut. (photo: Urban Urbanc, slovenia.info)
Inside doughnuts there is usually a good portion of apricot jam that is inclined to deliciously ooze out over your fingers when you make your first bite! (photo: Urban Urbanc, Sportida d.o.o.)
The peaceful little village of Dreznica is renowned for its Shrovetide Carnival, one of the most enjoyable local events in Slovenia. (photo: Matej Vranic, Fotokom)
Shrovetide is preserved in a very authentic form in the village of Dreznica. (photo: Matej Vranic, Fotokom)
The main figures involved are “the ugly ones”, who chase youngsters and cover them with ashes, and “the beautiful ones“, who visit homes to receive gifts and to dance. (photo: Matej Vranic, Fotokom)
Shrovetide in Dreznica and Drezniske Ravne has been declared an intangible cultural heritage of national significance. (photo: Matej Vranic, Fotokom)
The BBC’s Good Food project has listed Slovenia’s capital Ljubljana among the top ten destinations for food lovers to visit in 2019.
Food in Slovenia’s Capital Ljubljana is varied, almost always of excellent quality and normally great value. (photo: Nea Culpa d.o.o., slovenia.info)
The BBC Good Food’s top 10 destinations for foodies 2019 are as follows:
1. Matera (Italy)
2. Amsterdam (the Netherlands)
3. Ljubljana (Slovenia)
4. The South Aegean islands (Greece)
5. Yorkshire (U.K.)
6. Corsica (France)
7. Pittsburgh (USA)
8. Japan
9. Peru
10. Ethiopia
While many food lovers from around the world may be very surprised to see the small capital of Slovenia ahead of such vast areas of culinary delights as the French Island of Corsica, placed at #6, or the whole of Japan, placed at #8, the ranking is a much-needed boost for the Slovenian gastronomy, which has been neglected by foodies, gourmets, gourmands and the culinary elite for too long.
In writing why Ljubljana deserves it’s place in the top 10, the writer of the article explains: ‘Small but perfectly formed, the so-called ‘Europe in miniature’ is so much more than that. Slovenia’s food culture is little bit Eastern European, a little bit Alpine, a little bit Med, but very much its own thing, too. The tiny capital, Ljubljana, has hipster coffee spots and killer burger joints but also cosy old country restaurants where rustic cuisine reigns supreme. Think: pršut (air-dried ham), zlikrofi (a ravioli-like pasta filled with herby pork), and indulgent gibanica cake (a blend of shortbread and fruity strudel) – dishes that are plentiful in beautiful lake and mountain towns like Bohinj and Bled. Chefs like Ana Roš are leading the charge for inventive Michelin-starred Slovenian cuisine, and there’s a little stretch of coast, too, where simple shellfish and fish carpaccio dishes are a fresh counterpoint to hearty inland eats.’
The full story, with all the details, can be read here.
In Ljubljana, residents and visitors can eat pretty much whatever they like, whenever they like. (photo: Jost Gantar, slovenia.info)
As you’d expect, Slovenia has culinary regions with different traditions, but you’ll find a sampling of them all in the capital. (photo: Jost Gantar, slovenia.info)
Open Kitchen or Odprta Kuhna as it is called in Slovene is a food market where you can experience the delights of freshly cooked food prepared by different Slovenian chefs right there in front of you, on the market stalls. (photo: Jost Gantar, slovenia.info)
The choice of food on offer is wide and varied. (photo: Jost Gantar, slovenia.info)
Open Kitchen, a gourmet street food market in Ljubljana. (photo: Jost Gantar, slovenia.info)
From trendy restaurants to street food, Ljubljana is the perfect destination for food-lovers. (photo: Nikola Jurisic, slovenia.info)
Slovenia's capital Ljubljana has all the right ingredients for the perfect city break. It's one of the youngest and most liveable capitals in the European Union. It’s a city with a medieval heart, a city of the Baroque and Art Nouveau, with numerous picturesque bridges across the Ljubljanica river and the vast green Tivoli park, which stretches into the very city centre.
Slovenia’s Skocjan Caves are one of the most impressive natural attractions on the planet and is listed among the UNESCO natural and cultural world heritage sites. The caves were created millions of years ago by the Reka River, which still streams through the cave. The caves consist of numerous caves and passages, collapse dolines, natural bridges, sinkholes and other underground Karst formations. The cave system is almost 6 kilometres long (approximately 3 kilometres is open to visitors), but may be even longer, as now two large passages have been discovered in the caves.
The Skocjan Cave is absolutely fabulous, but what makes this cave system extra special is the rushing underground river and the size of some of the chambers, they are enormous. (photo: Jost Gantar, slovenia.info)
The newly discovered passages measure between 30 and 50 metres in height and width and represent the former bed of the Reka river. The discovery was made by cavers Luka Biscak, Albert Lican and Jaka Jakofcic after a year and a half of exploration. They found the way to the passages through the roof of the Martel’s Chamber, which is not only the largest chamber in the Skocjan Caves but also the largest discovered underground chamber in the whole of Europe and one of the largest in the world. The passages are located some 75 metres above the current bed of the underground Reka river. This is why the discovery of the passages is important, as it will enable experts to study the river after heavy rainfalls, when water levels rise by up to one hundred metres. The discovery also means that Martel’s Chamber will be accessible from above for the entire year, and not only during the dry season, when the water level of the underground Reka river drops significantly.
This pleasant discovery comes in the year when the Skocjan Caves are celebrating 200 years since the first organised visits took place in the cave system.
Although huge, the canyon ends with a relatively small siphon, which cannot deal with the enormous volume of water that pours into the cave after a heavy rainfall, causing severe flooding when water levels rise by up to one hundred metres. (photo: Borut Lozej, Archives Park Skocjanske Jame)
The magical underground world you can’t help admiring. (photo: Nea Culpa d.o.o., slovenia.info)
We are glad to report that the Slovenian photographer Jaka Ivancic from Ankaran has made it among the world’s top 10 landscape photographers of 2018 on a list compiled by One Eyeland, the world’s largest curated online gallery and photo sharing website.
A photo of the snow-covered Lake Bled that earned Jaka Ivancic a spot in the “Top 10 Landscape Photographers of the World: 2018”
Both professional and amateur photographers from around the world were asked to submit their best landscape images. Participants vied for the opportunity to have their work earn them a spot in the “Top 10 Landscape Photographers of the World: 2018”. A combination of a points system and two rounds of judging by a jury of seven photographers was employed to round up and rank the winners of this year’s competition.
Jaka Ivancic emerged as the #7 landscape photographer, garnering 40 points for his stunning photos of the snow-covered Lake Bled and Plitvice Lakes.
Don’t forget to check out One Eyeland’s website for the showcase of the winning and inspiring landscape masterpieces from the competitions.
If you want to see more of Jaka Ivancic’s impressive work, head over to his photo gallery with 15 landscape photos of the Slovenian Istria.
Prominent U.K. newspaper The Guardian put together a list of Europe’s Best Wilderness Cabins And Mountain Huts For Hikers and we are delighted to report that Slovenian Mountain Huts were included on this prestigious list.
There are more than 180 mountain huts, shelters and bivouacs in the Slovenian Alps. On the photo is the Ticarjev Dom mountain hut that stands on the southern side of the Vrsic pass at an elevation of 1,620 metres (5,315 feet). (Image by Masa Vodenik)
The full list of Europe’s best wilderness cabins and mountain huts for hikers is below:
– Smugglers’ den, Finland
– Mountain cabins, Sweden
– Designer dens, Denmark
– Shelters, Crete
– Hut in the Blâches forest
– Hermitage, Spain
– Wild camping in the Lysefjord, northern Norway.
– Mountain huts, Slovenia
– Mountain huts, Austria, Germany & Switzerland
– Highland huts, Iceland
– Forest huts, Estonia
– Green hostels, Poland
– Cattle sheds, Andorra
– Lighthouse stay, Ireland
– Mountain hostel, Croatia
– Eco village, Romania
– Lodges, the Balkans
The Planika Pod Triglavom mountain hut (left) lies on the Ledine plateau at an elevation of 2,401 meters (7,877 feet) on the southern side of Mount Triglav. The Kredarica mountain hut (right) lies on the Kredarica plateau east of Mt. Triglav and is the highest, largest and most frequented mountain hut in Slovenia at an elevation of 2,515 meters (8,251 feet). (Image by Masa Vodenik)
The Koca Na Gozdu mountain hut lies right next to the Vrsic mountain pass road at an elevation of 1,226 meters (4,022 feet).
(Image by Walle Grevik)
Aljazev Dom V Vratih or Aljaz Lodge In The Vrata Valley as it is called in English stands at an elevation of 1,015 metres (3,330 feet) near the Triglavska Bistrica stream in the upper end of the Vrata Valley. The mountain hut is the starting point to ascend Mt. Triglav, Mt. Skrlatica and Mt. Cmir. It was named after the Slovenian priest and composer Jakob Aljaz, who ordered the construction of the first wooden hut in the valley in 1896. (Image by Nea Culpa d.o.o.)
The Ceska Koca mountain hut stands at an elevation of 1,543 metres (5,062 feet) on the Spodnje Ravni cirque above the Ravenska Kocna valley below the northern part of Mount Grintovec, the highest mountain of the Kamnik–Savinja Alps, with an elevation of 2,558 metres (8,392 feet). The mountain hut has been named after the Czechs from Prague who built it in 1900. (Image by Jost Gantar)
The Erjavceva Koca Na Vrsicu mountain hut stands at an elevation of 1,515 metres (4,970 feet) by road to the Vrsic Pass from Kranjska Gora in the Trenta valley. (Image by Boris Pretnar)
Koca Na Kamniskem Sedlu or the Kamnik Saddle Lodge as it is called in English stands at an elevation of 1,864 metres (6,115 feet) just below the Kamnik Saddle with Mt. Brana to its west and Mt. Planjava to its east, and the Kamnik Bistrica Valley to its south. On its north is a steep descent toward the beautiful Logarska Valley, home to the Rinka waterfall. The mountain hut was built in 1906, then rebuilt in 1983, and then again slightly modified in 2010. (Image by Jost Gantar)
Planinski Dom Tamar is a 50-bed mountain hut located in the Tamar Valley at an elevation of 1,108 metres (3,635 feet). It lies in the shadow of Mt. Mojstrovka to the east and Mt. Jalovec to the south. (Image by Matjaz Vidmar)
At the summit of the Vrsic mountain pass, there is a parking area. A 20-minute hike up the hill on the left takes you to the Postarski Dom Na Vrsicu mountain hut standing at an elevation of 1,688 meters (5,538 feet). The views from the mountain hut are breathtaking and there is an up-close view of the Pagan Girl on the hike up to the hut. (Image by Boris Pretnar)
Triglavski Dom Na Kredarici or The Triglav Lodge At Kredarica as it is called in English stands at an elevation of 2,515 metres (8,251 feet). It is the highest mountain hut in Slovenia. It stands on a small plateau just under the peak of Kredarica, an elevation in the ridge between Mt. Rjavina and Mt. Triglav. (Image by Matjaz Vidmar)
The Koca Pri Triglavskih Jezerih is a mountain lodge nestled quietly at an elevation of 1,685 metres (5,528 feet) in the Triglav Lakes Valley in Slovenia’s Julian Alps. (Image by Joza Mihelic)
When hiking the Slovenian Alps, it is always good to rest and recuperate at one of Slovenia’s 180 or so mountain huts. (Image by Boris Pretnar)
Slovenia is one of the seven safest countries to travel to in 2019, according to a new interactive map showing the risk level around the world.
Slovenia is becoming increasingly popular among tourists, also owing to high level of security. (Image by Jure Korber and Tjasa Borsnak)
The 2019 Travel Risk Map, launched by global risk experts International SOS in collaboration with Control Risks, shows the danger level in each country and territory based on the current threat posed to travellers by political violence (including terrorism, insurgency, politically motivated unrest and war), social unrest (including sectarian, communal and ethnic violence) and violent and petty crime.
Also taken into consideration are factors such as the effectiveness of the security and emergency services, the robustness of the transport infrastructure, the state of industrial relations and the country’s susceptibility to natural disasters.
The map lists five categories of risk: insignificant (the lowest), low, medium, high and extreme (the highest).
The Travel Risk Map 2019 maps out security risks across the world. (International SOS and Control Risks)
Only a very few countries manage to make it into the ‘insignificant’ bracket; in Europe, only Slovenia, Luxembourg, Denmark, Switzerland, Norway, Finland, Iceland and Greenland are put in this category. The majority of European countries are deemed low risk, including Germany, France, Italy and the United Kingdom. Canada, the United States, Australia and New Zealand are all low risk too. Medium-level risks for tourists, for example, are associated with trips to Russia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Brazil, while visits to Mexico, Venezuela and DR Congo are highly risky. ‘Extreme’ risk countries are almost exclusively in Africa and the Middle East, including Syria, Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen, Mali, South Sudan and Somalia.
The majority of European countries are deemed low risk, but only Slovenia, Luxembourg, Denmark, Switzerland, Norway, Finland, Iceland and Greenland managed to make it into the ‘insignificant’ risk category. (International SOS and Control Risks)
‘Slovenia’s greatest single attribute is the Slovenes themselves: quietly conservative, deeply self-confident, remarkably broad-minded, especially tolerant and very, very hospitable,’ says Steve Fallon, the legendary founder of Maxwells. ‘So its ranking comes as no surprise.’ (Image by Luka Esenko)
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