Bohinj and Julian Alps

Some people prefer mountains some people prefer the sea, for me I've always loved mountains.
I grew up on a council estate in the Rhondda valley called Trebanog, its situated on top of a mountain like most places in the Rhondda it was a mining community. All of my favourite childhood memories come from running all that mountain, building dens and eating home made jam sandwiches, drinking water always came from the streams. Fast forward 30 years and I find myself in a field surrounded in the Triglav National Park, the only national park in Slovenia it lies in the immediate vicinity of Bled. It comprises one of the most beautiful and attractive areas of Slovenia, almost the entire Slovenian part of the Julian Alps. The territory of the National Park is very picturesque and varied. The highest mountain in Slovenia, Triglav (2864 m), after which the park was named, lies in its centre. From Triglav, deep and sharply cut valleys, mainly of glacial origin, open on all sides in the form of a fan.

The valleys and plateaux are covered by a carpet of green forests and meadows. Bold, high pointed mountain peaks rise above them, with dark and deep abysses. Clear mountain streams and small rivers run in the numerous gorges and beautiful ravines and troughs (Vintgar, Mlinarica, Mostnica) and flow into two larger rivers - the Sava and the So?a. The watershed between the Adriatic and the Black Sea runs between them. There are mountain lakes (the Triglav Lakes, Kri?ka Lakes, etc.) high in the mountains, and Lake Bohinj, the largest permanent natural lake in Slovenia. This magnificent and rugged landscape is inhabited by an extremely rich variety of flora and fauna with numerous rare and protected plant and animal species. At the edge of the park, where man has been master for many centuries, history and human culture have left their traces.

In more remote places you can find old farms and homes characteristic to this landscape, and mountains of interest, on many of which cattle still graye - the farms in this area are well known for their cheese production. The tides of World War I and II also surged into the Triglav National Park. During World War I, the present-day National Park was part of the long-lasting So?a Front. The front line ran high in the mountains (over the peaks of Rombon and Krn) and through the valley of the river So?a. In World War II, this area was known for its well-organised and popular Partisan movement.

Many sights in the Triglav National Park are described in detail in his book and can be visited by tourists, since they are accessible to many sights: Vintgar, Poklju?ka Ravine, Lake Bohinj, Vrata valley, Vr?i?, Trenta, Pokljuka, etc. Well-marked footpaths and mountain trails and numerous mountain huts enable hikers to visit the higher areas of the National Park. Such trips are easier and safer if guided by experienced mountain guides.