Surroundings Ljubljana – All our local tips

Animals and people sometimes get too loud, and plants seem the only suitable company. Quietly blooming and growing, proudly showing amazing diversity of mother nature. The botanical garden Volčji Potok, the only one of its kind in Slovenia, is perfect to rest your ears and feed all the other senses. Sweet scent of magnolias, lively colours of tulips, smooth structure of maple bark are things that make this place worth to visit. At least they impress me.

Arboretum can compliment itself with more than 2500 different tree species and no-one-knows-how-many flowers. The park itself is gorgeous too, so don’t hesitate choosing this place to stretch your legs. It also offers a big playground area, where you can leave children, who are usually interested in trees only around Christmas time.

Like one wise man once said: „Don’t hurry too much! Stop sometimes and smell a flower.”

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Arboretum Volčji Potok | Relaxing, Shopping | Entrance adults € 5.50
Volčji Potok 3 | Surroundings | +38618312345
08:00 – 20:00 daily

Ljubljana can be unbearably hot during the summer. If the sun heats the concrete, the concrete heats back. Double portion if possible!

On a midday July in the city center, you will probably only see a bunch of Chinese tourists taking pictures…and some ice-cream sellers annoyed by sweat. And that’s it. Locals will be drifting out to to the promenade only after 20:00. During the day they are safely hidden behind cool thick walls of their apartments or…or they are in a place like Iški Vindgar.

This canyon, cooled by little river Iška that always stays below 18°C, is a perfect spot for a one day hangout, a walk in nature, picnic, and – if you are courageous enough – a swim.

There is also one climbing spot if you want to move in a vertical direction. If you prefer horizontal movement, I advise you to walk in the stream (so take shoes that can get wet) – it is much easier and faster than walking through the forest.

One more thing to finish off: the more up stream you will go, the less people will be around you…so if you want to be alone, for example with your girlfriend, be prepared for at least a 2 hours walk (you can be sure the best spots will be taken anyway

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Iški Vintgar | Relaxing | Free
Iški Vintgar | Surroundings
24 hours daily

You probably heard, or at least you will soon after arriving in Slovenia, some local proudly saying, that our little country is so small, you can get from the Alps to the Adriatic sea …and back in one hour if you drive a bad ass car and don’t give a damn about speed limits.

Anyway, we are all very proud of it and we like to hand over this cool fact to everyone who wants to listen us. This “parole” is also supported by the fact, that the closest ski centre rises up half an hour from Ljubljana (again, if you drive a bad ass car and you don’t give a damn about speed limits, only 15 minutes). Now tell me, which capital can beat this luxury?

Krvavec is very popular winter recreation point among inhabitants of Ljubljana. They offer 35 km of ski slopes, which is not so big, that you could entertain there for the whole week, but is totally cool for a day or weekend trip.

But just a warning: on a nice sunny day during the weekend, it can get pretty crowded with half of Ljubljana’s population collecting sun tan there…and skiing of course.

(every “ski” in the text can be replaced with “snowboard” if it makes you happier)

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Krvavec | Relaxing | Day ticket adults € 28.00
Ambrož pod Krvavcem 50 | Surroundings | +38642525911
08:00 – 17:00 daily (winter season)

Przancek is a really typical outskirts bar of Ljubljana’s suburb. A garden that attracts people all summer, old-never-fashionable interior and compared to the centre cheaper drinks makes it popular for young and old. Its name is diminutive of this neighborhoods name Przan.

Laid back atmosphere and vicinity of forest make it a great place to have coffee (We just love to have coffee and even more we love drinking it outside with some good company) or early afternoon beer on the sun. It’s also a perfect starting point for a walk into the forest nearby or to relax after coming from one, before returning to the urban life.

Not long ago a big novelty came to the place. Przancek upgraded itself with a computer connected to the internet and it’s there to use for free. During the week they also offer simple daily menus for € 3.80.

Przancek is located on the last stop of bus N°7 – PRZAN.

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Przancek | Bars, Coffee & tea | Beer € 2.00
Cesta Andreja Bitenca 64 | Surroundings
Mon – Fri 07:00 – 04:00, Sat 09:00 – 00:00, Sun 09:00 – 22:00

Pekel means hell in Slovene language and this canyon deservedly got its name. It is hard to reach and steep rocky walls together with wild water give it dingy look. But it is a great place if you want a few hour breaks in wild nature.

You can adapt length of our walk to how much you want to see. The main attraction of the spot are definitely waterfalls, five of them actually. The highest one (20 meters) is 1.5 hours walk away from the starting point.

Very attractive are the second and third waterfall with 16 and 18 meters height: appropriate for people that are not much of a climber. The idea here is that the further up you go, the more you have to climb on ladders and pitons, which can be quite a challenge if they are a bit slippery. I know flip flops and white socks are ultra obligatory fashion if you are a tourist (not!), but please swallow you dignity and don’t use this footwear when you will do this trip!

During the winter waterfalls freeze and they are used for ice climbing.

Canyon Pekel is located near Borovnica, on the edge of Ljubljana marsh, half an hour by  car from city centre. Who would have thought you can experience a bit of ‘mountaineering’ so close to the capital?

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Soteska Pekel | Relaxing | Free
Near Borovnica | Surroundings
Daily during daylight

I am not very bird wise so I don’t know if magpies actually live here, or the valley got its name from a local with a wide imagination. It doesn’t matter, really. The thing is, this place is great for spending some time in nature. Wooden paths, huge meadows, small streams, even some cows and horses for the real countryside touch.

For some uphill torture you can head to Rašica hill (30 minutes up from Rašica village) where you will find a cabin and a view tower, but I believe the apple strudel will be by far the most interesting thing on the top. The area is also greatfor cross-country and downhill biking – just be careful for grannies and dogs.

The valley is located at the upper edge of Ljubljana; you can reach it with bus no. 6 in direction of Crnuce or with bikes (9km from city centre); it is just a hint away from city camping Ježica.

Remember the old saying: Walk the dog every day, even if you don’t have one. I have 3 and so a lot of reasons to go on a walk there every day.

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Sracja dolina | Relaxing | Free
Sracja dolina | Surroundings
24 hours daily