OUTDOOR PURSUITS

The country’s mountains, forests, hills, rivers and lakes offer unlimited potential to enjoy a huge range of outdoor pursuits – hiking, ski-ing, rafting, canoeing, kyaking, horse riding, ballooning, para-gliding and cycling – to name just a few.SKI-INGSkiing in Slovenia first began in the 17thcentury when Slovenes discovered the broad open spaces of the Bloke Plateau in Nortranjska.

Today, it is still the most popular sport and boasts more than 15 major ski resorts & many smaller ones. They are all well equipped andsafety is a priority.Generally speaking, the ski season begins inlate November, through to March or April.Slovenia has dozens of well-groomed ski centers with lifts.The best known ski centers world-wide areKranjska Gora, which hosts an annual World Cup men's slalomand giant slalom competition, andMaribor Pohorje, which hosts the annual World Cup women's slalom and giant slalom Golden Fox competition.The highest ski center in Slovenia is on Mount Kanin, where the snow remains well into the spring.Also among the most popular destinations for alpine skiers are Krvavec, not far from Ljubljana, Rogla in the Zreče Pohorje region, and Golte above Mozirje. Cerkno Ski Centre is the most modern family ski slope in Slovenia. The larger ski centers also maintain trails for snowboarding, sledding, cross-country skiing, and even ski touring.

Trails for cross-country skiers are found by many lakes and on high plateaus such as Pokljuka, which hosts a World Championship bi-athlon. Groomed cross-country trails are also found in Logarska dolina and close to many tourist areas where small local ski hills and lifts are also often available.

Winter pleasures can be diversified with snowmobile rides, which are possible in Kranjska Gora, Pohorje, Pokljuka, Krvavec . . . In some places, tourist rides are offered on dog sleds and horse-drawn sleighs.

Across Slovenia, there are organized sled runs, even outside the ski centers. Especially attractive is sledding down the roads from snowed-in mountain passes that are closed for the winter (Mangart), which are organised by qualified sport agencies. On Pohorje, sledding is even possible in summer at the Adrenaline Park!