Severna Primorska

Severna Primorska

Author: Prezeljc

The place where the freshness of the Alps, the smelling scents of the Mediterranean and the Karst come together, is a unique piece of land. The Soča River (Isonzo), for many the most beautiful European river, carves the narrowest of gorges into the live rocks and imprints its riverbed on to the white gravel. The Trenta Valley under Vršič with the Trenta Museum opens the door into the wonderful world of the Triglav National Park, and Bovec is quickly developing into an Alpine tourist centre with the immediate vicinity of the highest mountain ski resort Kanin. The Bovec Rafting Team offers a lot of opportunities for spending active holidays, as well as the place Kobarid with its surroundings.

At the wonderful emerald Soča River there are pathways that join history, nature and the people. Kobarid is world known as the place of the Soča Front from World War I, the greatest mountain battle of all times. The Kobarid Museum talks cautiously about this part of history. The Toncovcov Castle tells an antique tale and the centuries old folk tradition is preserved in the Carnival customs of Drežnice. The ancient Breginjski kot is an architectural and ethnological monument, a proof of magnificent co-existence between man and nature.

The centre of Zgornje Posočje is Tolmin with its old town part and a modern sports park. In the Coronini Mansion the Tolmin Museum houses. Surely a ride with the museum train on steam engine along the "Bohinj railway" is a special experience. From Most na Soči the boat Lucija will take you on a trip along the river. Between the Kanal Kolovrat and the plateau Banjšice the picturesque town Kanal ob Soči developed. To the utmost east of Slovenia there is the hilly wine-growing region of Goriška Brda. The merriest season among the Brici is early summer, when delicious cherries are picked, and of course in the autumn at grape-harvesting. Briška rebula is the queen of the wine cellar here. Over the well-known Solkan Bridge the road leads you from Goriška Brda to Nova Gorica. This modern and young border town with numerous parks and flower beds is known as the town of roses. Its surroundings are enriched by outstanding natural and cultural heritage: the Soča River, Castle Kromberk with Gorica Museum, Kostanjevica with sarcophagus of the French royal family the Bourbons, the pilgrim hill Sveta gora (681 m), and the tranquillity of the Trnovski gozd forest, where there is the forest reservation Paradana.

In the valley of the Idrijca River, there lies the oldest Slovenian mining town Idrija, once the second biggest mercury mine in the world. The oldest part of the mine, the Antonij shaft, has been arranged for tourists. Nearby the Regional Park Zgornja Idrijca starts with the Wild Lake (Divje jezero). Cerkno in Cerkljanska is a quickly developing tourist centre with a modern ski resort. Under the steep slopes of the Trnovski gozd forest there lies the Vipava Valley, a land of peaches, cherries and grapes. You can experience the most beautiful view of it from the edge of the plateau, perhaps through the Otliško okno window. In the valley below you can hear the source of Hubelj. The central town of the region is Ajdovščina, and near the source of the Vipava River there lies the town Vipava.