Into the Mountains
📍 Location: Ljubljana and Velika Planina, Slovenia
🥾 Itinerary: Lazy morning and mountain experience
The Short Version
After a relaxed morning in Ljubljana, we stocked up on supplies and travelled into the beautiful Kamnik–Savinja Alps for an overnight stay on Velika Planina.
A packed cable car, a mystery tyre and a peaceful chairlift carried us high into the mountains, where we discovered traditional herdsmen’s huts, a tiny chapel, giant swings and views that stopped us in our tracks.
We ended the day cooking together in our mountain hut, relaxing in a hot tub overlooking the Alps and lying beneath the Milky Way. It was one of those simple, special days that reminds you what life is really all about.
The Long-Winded Version
🍳 8.30am – Breakfast and Baubles
We started the day with a good breakfast of toasted cheese sandwiches and proper coffee.
The chatter around the table was lively as everyone shared stories from the night before. Unlike me, who had gone straight to sleep, some of the others had found enough energy to explore the castle and wander around the town.
I have no idea where they get their energy from!
Snay then presented me with a fabulous Slovenian Christmas bauble for my collection. Thanks, Snay. I love it!
A Lazy Morning in Ljubljana
The plan was for Arne to collect us at 11am before we headed into the mountains to spend the night in a mountain hut. This meant we had a few hours to fill.
Some people went shopping, while others headed to the park. I bought a Slovenian patch for my rucksack and then spent a couple of hours clearing emails and uploading a few Adventure Geek social events. (Joys of being self-employed!)
I know I’m supposed to be on holiday, but every little job I complete here means one less thing waiting for me when I get home!
🚌 11am – And We’re Off!
Arne arrived to collect us and we loaded everything into the minibus.
Our first stop was a huge SPAR supermarket, where we had just 20 minutes to gather all the food and supplies we would need for our night in the mountains.
It was a bit like Supermarket Sweep.
Someone grabbed the onions, someone else went in search of chopped tomatoes and others hunted down pasta, snacks and drinks. Everyone worked brilliantly as a team and, somehow, it all came together.
The plan was for me to cook a chilli pasta dish for everyone that evening.
Cooking for eight people in an unfamiliar mountain hut, using ingredients bought during a 20-minute supermarket dash…
What could possibly go wrong? 😂
💦 12.30pm – The Bluest Water
On the way to the cable car, we stopped near Stahovica in the beautiful Kamniška Bistrica Valley.
This glacial valley stretches deep into the Kamnik–Savinja Alps, and the Kamniška Bistrica River rises from underground springs beneath the mountains. As the water travels through the limestone, it is naturally filtered and emerges incredibly clear and cold.
The clear water, pale limestone and light reflecting from the surface give it that beautiful blue-green colour. It looked almost too perfect to be real.
Arne, as always, was a fountain of knowledge. I’m beginning to think there isn’t much about Slovenia that he doesn’t know!
We took a group photo beside the waterfall and then climbed back into the minibus to continue towards the cable car.
🛞 The Mystery Tyre and Up We Go!
Well, this was an experience! We all squeezed into the cable car, complete with our overnight rucksacks and bags of food. We had left our suitcases behind, but it was still a very tight fit.
A few people were not entirely comfortable with being packed in like Slovenian sardines.
Standing near us was a very tall lady.
I leaned towards Emma and whispered:
“She’s tall!”
Emma looked down and replied:
“She’s standing on a tyre.”
Sure enough, in the middle of this very crowded cable car, there was a large tyre lying on the floor, and the woman was standing on it. Weird!
Why was there a tyre in the cable car? Why was she standing on it? Was it part of her luggage? Did the cable car provide booster tyres for people wanting a better view? 😂
We had so many questions, but no answers. It was one of those completely random moments.
After five rather cosy minutes, we arrived at the upper station and escaped from the cable car. We then transferred onto a chairlift to carry us even higher.
Now this was more like it!
I absolutely loved the chairlift. There is something wonderfully peaceful about dangling above the landscape with your feet swinging freely and the mountains opening up all around you.
🛖 1.50pm – Just Look at Our Mountain Hut!
We arrived at our home for the night and all I could say was: Wow!
The mountain hut was amazing. There were two bedrooms downstairs and a larger room upstairs that slept four people. We had a hot tub, a sauna, a wood-burning stove and the most incredible views across the Alps.
This was not quite the basic mountain hut I had imagined!
It felt warm, welcoming and completely cut off from everyday life. No traffic, no rushing about – just mountains, fresh air and each other.
🥙 2pm – A Proper Mountain Lunch
By now, we were hungry, so we walked back up towards the café near the chairlift for a late lunch of traditional Slovenian food.
I ordered sausage with sauerkraut, chunky bread and a hearty barley dish called ričet. It was exactly the sort of warming mountain food I needed and I washed it down with a refreshing Radler.
Gisella and Snay ordered a lemon drink with a rather clever lid. You had to tap the top to release the lemon powder into the water before shaking it all together. Entertainment and refreshment in one bottle!
At the entrance sat a man dressed in traditional Slovenian costume. You could pay a few euros to have your photo taken with him, but he didn’t speak or even smile.
It was all a little strange.
Perhaps smiling cost extra? 😂
🥾 3.30pm – Hike Time!
Walking shoes on, rucksacks ready – and off we went.
For me, this was the best part of the day.
Velika Planina means “Big Pasture”, and it is home to one of the largest traditional herdsmen’s settlements in Europe. For generations, herdsmen have brought their cattle up to these high pastures during the summer months.
The settlement is famous for its distinctive wooden huts, with low, curved roofs that almost reach the ground. They were designed to withstand the strong winds, heavy rain and deep winter snow.
Scattered across the green plateau, with the mountains rising behind them, the huts looked as though they belonged in a storybook.
We walked through wide-open meadows surrounded by the Kamnik–Savinja Alps. Cowbells rang out across the hills and, every few steps, another amazing view appeared.
In the middle of the settlement stands the little Chapel of Our Lady of the Snows. The original chapel was destroyed during the Second World War but was rebuilt in 1988, following the old design. Its small wooden tower and curved roof fit perfectly among the herdsmen’s huts.
We also discovered something a little less traditional – giant swings hanging from an old cable car structure.
Obviously, we had to have a go!
There is something quite joyful about swinging high above the ground with the mountains all around you. It made us feel like kids again.
☕ Coffee, Cake and Goodbye to Arne
After our walk, we returned to the café for coffee, cheesecake and apple strudel.
We then said goodbye to Arne, who headed back down the mountain while we returned to our hut to relax.
A few of us changed into our swimming costumes and climbed into the hot tub.
I have never had a hot tub experience with scenery quite like that behind us. The dramatic mountain peaks stretched across the horizon while we sat in warm, bubbling water, chatting and laughing.
It was one of those moments when you stop, look around and think:
How lucky are we?
🛖 8pm – Chilli, Games and a Very Cosy Hut
After the hot tub, it was time for me to cook dinner. Ange helped, and we soon had a little system going as we chopped, stirred and attempted to work out where everything was kept.
Meanwhile, Claire W had lit the wood-burning stove, and our little hut quickly became warm and cosy.
The smell of dinner filled the room, everyone gathered around the table and our rushed supermarket ingredients were transformed into a rather successful chilli pasta dish.
Phew!
After dinner, we played a few games, including Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza, which was every bit as chaotic as its name.
🌒 9.30pm – Under the Milky Way
Later that evening, we went outside and lay down on the decking to look at the stars.
Away from the lights of the city, the sky was incredibly clear. Above us, we could see the Milky Way stretching across the darkness.
As I lay there, I thought about what a special day it had been.
Yes, the mountains were spectacular. The hot tub was amazing, the walk was beautiful and the mountain hut was everything I had hoped it would be.
But the best part was the feeling of togetherness.
We had shopped together, carried our supplies up the mountain, cooked together, eaten around the same table, played silly games and finished the evening lying beneath the stars.
None of it was complicated, but perhaps that was the point.
Sometimes, the happiest moments come from the simplest things: sharing food, sharing laughter and giving each other our time.
The world could do with a little more of that.
Tonight, beneath the Milky Way, I felt incredibly grateful – for this beautiful place, for this adventure and for the friendships being made along the way.
Tomorrow is Lake Bled! I can’t wait. 🇸🇮🥾
