Snowshoeing near Bled on the Pokljuka Plateau, Slovenia
A traditional herdsmen’s summer settlement on the Pokljuka Plateau
Snowshoeing on the Pokljuka Plateau, between Bled and Bohinj in the Julian Alps Slovenia. A thickly forested alpine plateau lying at 1300m featuring several traditional herdsmen's summer settlements.
A ‘blue bird’ day and deep snow
After our first attempt at using our new snowshoes on Velika Planina, where we spent the whole day in a whiteout and could barely see each other, never mind any form of view, we were mightily relieved to wake up the following day to a glorious alpine 'bluebird day': cloudless, bright blue skies and snow-topped peaks.
We decided to head to the Pokljuka Plateau, between Bled and Bohinj in the Julian Alps. It is a thickly forested alpine plateau lying at 1300m: 20km long and almost the same wide. Just a few forest tracks cut through the forests, and the plateau contains several traditional herdsmen's settlements which are still inhabited in the summer by local farmers bringing their cattle (complete with cowbells and calves) up to the high 'planinas' to graze in lush, wildflower-strewn meadows.
Setting off from Rudno Polje
Silence and solitude in the Pokljuka Plateau forest
On the mid-winter's day that we spent snowshoeing there, though, it was covered by a thick (at least 1m) blanket of snow and was a very chilly -15°C. So we donned five of our warmest layers and filled our flask with our favourite porcini mushroom soup. We parked at Rudno Polje (an old military barracks but also Slovenia's cross-country skiing and Biathlon training centre) and decided to walk to Planina Zajavornik. In the summer this wouldn't be much more than half an hour's walk in each direction, but we'd learned that snowshoeing is much, much slower – for us anyway! Wrapped up warmly, we set off into the trees.
This is where you really do need Maps.Me because otherwise you stand no hope of finding the walking trails lying buried beneath the snow.
Whatever you do, you must not walk down the cross-country ski tracks that wind their way through the forests. For a novice this might seem an obvious thing to do, but you'd be highly unpopular, and also probably mown down by a lycra-clad, fast moving but silent cross-country skier. Sometimes the footpaths cross the cross-country pistes, which is OK, but take care not to step on the two tracks that are cut into them, as you'd damage the edges and make it unusable for the skiers.
Maps.Me also shows trails for snowshoeing and ski touring (a very thin, purple line) as well as the waymarked footpaths. The beauty of snowshoeing is that you don't need to follow these paths exactly (although it's wise to keep them broadly in sight or know where they are) and so you can wander 'off piste' through the snowy forests, making new tracks of your own.
The perfect lunch stop at Zajavornik Planina, Pokljuka Plateau
Cross-country ski piste on Pokljuka Plateau Slovenia
If it's been a while since it snowed, you'll generally find that some intrepid snowshoer or ski tourer has been there before you, and you can follow their tracks. We also use the track recording feature in Maps.Me, which means you can retrace your steps on your return route or should you get temporarily misplaced (snowy winter forests all look the same after a while!)
The occasional brown bear sometimes wanders through the Pokljuka Plateau so you really can't be too careful as it's easy to get lost (as I found out to my cost a few years ago, but that's a whole other story). You should be fine in winter – the bears are hibernating!
Zajavornik Planina
The walk through the forests was beautiful, and the cold mountain air (rather surprisingly) filled with the song of large flocks of yellowy-green siskins in the treetops. I didn't have my binoculars with me, but my beloved Merlin Bird ID app reliably told me there were also flocks of Coal Tits, Crested Tits and Eurasian Treecreepers keeping the Siskins company.
We emerged from the dark forest onto the sunny Zajavornik Planina, which was absolutely stunning: a perfect Alpine landscape of old, weathered rustic wooden huts lying huddled in a snowy meadow against a backdrop of the wild and mighty Julian Alps. We sat on a bench on the balcony of one of the huts (this is acceptable and commonplace in Slovenia, as long as you leave no trace) and drank in the glorious mountain views, sunshine and our steaming mushroom soup. Heaven.
Planina Zajavornik is the largest pasture on the Pokljuka Plateau and was first documented in 1344. A special feature of the planina is the 'stanovi' or cottages with dual ownership. Each cottage is divided into two residential units with a common fireplace where herdsmen prepared food, each over their own fire. Each herdsmen had his own storage room, bedroom or 'kamrca' and a key to his own part of the cottage. The stalls for the cattle are made of wooden beams and are called 'tamar' but are no longer used for this purpose, as the cattle all graze outside in the meadows.
Planina Zajavornik was the first Slovene pasture with an outdoor milking area, where mechanical milking has been carried out since 1984. We gleaned all this information from a noticeboard in the centre of the settlement, where you can also buy fresh dairy products during the spring and summer months.
Planina Zajavornik is the largest pasture on the Pokljuka Plateau and was first documented in 1344
Reluctantly we decided we'd better head back but did so 'the long way round' after doing a full circuit of the planina in the relative warmth of the sunshine. The return walk was just as beautiful as the way out and we returned to the car feeling happy, well-exercised and even keener on the fabulous winter activity of snowshoeing.
Traditional barn on Zajavornik Planina
Zajavornik Planina, Pokljuka Plateau
Why not give it a go?
You can hire snowshoes from Hotel Sport on the Pokljuka Plateau – less than 10 minutes' drive from where we started our walk.