Slemenova Špica is hands down my favorite hike I've done in Slovenia. I went on a beautiful September day with friends Maliha, Lauren, and all the kiddos. It was the British school's fall break, so they all had it off. My kids did not, so I let them play hookie. Such a good mom.
What makes this hike so great is that you start at the summit of the Julian Alps known as Vršič Pass, elevation 1611 meters or 5,285 feet. That's almost exactly a mile! (For reference, the highest peak in Slovenia is Mt. Triglav, at 9,396 feet.) It's a long windy road to the top, guaranteed to get the kids carsick. But it's great to start hiking on top of the mountains as opposed to the bottom! The path does have some inclines, but the pictures make it look like you've been climbing for days! It's only five kms roundtrip and takes about 3-4 hours to complete...very doable with kids. Tough kids, that is.
First we stopped at the Russian Orthodox Chapel on the way up to the summit. This was built to commemorate the Russian POWs from WWI who perished in an avalanche while building the road up to the pass.
And then it was time to hit the trail
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| Taking a break, admiring the views |
After a gradual and somewhat challenging incline, we reached the saddle, which was about the half way point
The trail leveled out and was lovely on the other side
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| Views into Austria |
And then we came to the last challenging climb to the top
Look at those mountains! 😍😍😍 And those tough kids!!
And here we are at the top!
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| Proud little mountaineers. I think her cousin's camp t-shirt gave her super powers. |
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| Again, views into Austria. I think I spy the Von Trapp family |
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| This is the direction we came from. You can see the saddle we passed through. Those are the magnificent Julian Alps in the background |
Then we descended a bit to a clearing where we picnicked.
Emily is so sophisticated eating her chickpea salad
These cute little locals were there to greet us at the parking lot.
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