HIKING JULIANA TRAIL – THE SOČA VALLEY PART

As a local Slovenia travel blogger, at the end of February 2020 I was already making plans for another great summer of going around places in Slovenia and blogging about them.

But then a global pandemic has put the entire planet on pause.

To stop the spread of coronavirus epidemic around the country, one of the Slovenian government restrictions was the cross-municipality movement ban – meaning you couldn’t leave your home municipality (in my case Slovenia’s capital Ljubljana) except to go to work, seek emergency services or offer assistance to relatives.

For me, this was the moment when “the new normal” and the the entire set of rules around it kicked in the hardest. Suddenly, it was like the curtain fell down, without a last call. It was hard for me to imagine life without going around & exploring new places.

While sitting at home, thinking about my travel blogging future, I was also thinking how lucky I am to be living in Slovenia, where forest cover almost 60% of its surface (in fact, the whole country is like one big natural reserve).

As the summer was approaching, the plan was obvious to me.

Most na Soči - Hiking Julijana Trail — **First stop –** **Most na Soči**

Hiking Juliana Trail — **A view in a distance** …

JULIANA TRAIL – JUST KEEP ON WALKING

Hiking has always been a thing in Slovenia. Besides the Alpe-Adria Trail, some new great hiking trails have been set up in the last years.

The latest popular long-distance hiking trail is called Juliana Trail – it circles the highest peaks of the Slovenian Julian Alps (hence the name), and at the same time connects valleys and pastures of the Triglav National Park.

Juliana trail takes you through remote Slovenian villages and untouched wilderness, but it also passes through the popular places such as Bled and Bohinj (lakes), the Soča River Valley, Kranjska Gora and Pokljuka Plateau.

Did someone say remote?

There are several great things about walking the Juliana Trail, most importantly, you get to see some best of Slovenia without being in a crowd of people.

In total, the Juliana walking trail is 270 km long and it has 16 stages. The stages are varying by length and walking difficulty; it’s possible to spend the night where a stage starts or ends, along with opportunities to stop for meals and get refreshments.

Soča Valley

My idea for this summer was not to walk the entire Juliana Trail (takes 2-3 weeks), but to organize the stages to fit into the five days I had. Since it was a hot summer after all, the Soča Valley part – known for its emerald green cold river Soča – sounded like a right thing for me to do.

To prepare for a walking trip – which started in Most na Soči and ended in Bovec – I checked the stages on the map and made reservations for my over-nights.

The rest was all about putting on my hiking shoes, and in no time I was out there experiencing the exceptional nature area, away from the crowds and all the fuss.

Smal Town - Hiking Juliana Trail — **Though you pass some smaller towns, you enjoy the peace and quiet.**

Nature Is the Best Place to Be

Except when reaching a major local town, there were not many people in sight along the picked stages – even though it was a peak of the summer season, and despite the fact that Soča Valley was one of the top domestic destinations of this summer.

When walking through the forest, feeling the coolness of the Soča river all over the heated body, you don’t feel the need to rush from A to B. Taking time (literally), making stops at your own pace and just enjoying the walking, travelling, forgetting about the rest of the world.