Kranjska Gora,Slovenia

Forty kilometres northwest of Bled, in the Sava Dolinka Valley, is Kranjska Gora (Carniolan Mountain), the largest and best-equipped ski resort in the country. Somehow, though, it just doesn’t seem Slovenian. The fact that the Italian and the Austrian borders are a half-dozen kilometres to the west and northwest might help explain that impression.

The Sava Dolinka Valley separates the Karavanke range from the Julian Alps. It has been an important commercial route between Gorenjska and Koroška for centuries; the 853m pass at Rateče is the lowest Alpine link between the Sava and Drava Valleys. The first railway in Gorenjska – from Ljubljana to Tarvisio (Trbiž) in Italy – made use of this pass when it opened in 1870.

Kranjska Gora was just a small valley village called Borovška Vas until the late 19th century, when skiing enthusiasts began to flock here. Planica (south of Rateče), the cradle of ski jumping, helped put the town on the world map earlier in the 20th century.

Kranjska Gora is at its best under a blanket of snow, but its surroundings are wonderful to explore in warmer months as well. The possibilities for hiking and mountaineering are endless in Triglav National Park on the town’s southern outskirts, and there aren’t many travellers who won’t be impressed by a trip over the Vršič Pass (1611m), the gateway to the Soča Valley and the province of Primorska.