02 8319 2266 from Australia
416-548-4819 from Canada
04 889 4515 from New Zealand
646-757-1102 from the USA
Julian Alps
The Julian Alps: A guide to the trek
Walking guides - see all our background pages
Introduction
The Julian Alps have been in Alpine Exploratory's programme since the beginning in 2005. In fact the first trip we ever organised was to the Julian Alps! We have a special feeling for the area. Since our first explorations, we have added new routes and continued to enjoy walking new sections of path, linking up new huts.
The Julian Alps are distinguished by a dense network of paths on good ground, plus an equally dense network of mountain huts. We approach the range from the point of view of the trekker, making tours of the mountains and moving from hut to hut. This is slightly different from an equally valid approach, to walk up to a hut, climb a peak in the morning and walk down.
The route that we offer is - we think - a good survey of the area, with daily distances in a manageable range. We love to advise clients on our trekking holidays about other options for side exploration. Please ask us!
Best bits
The Bohinj basin is a highlight. We remember a cloud inversion one day that covered the lake: spectacular from above at Dom na Komni. All of our routes run above Lake Bohinj for a while.
The dramatic paths that skirt the base of Triglav on the South side are another highlight. They give long views to Vogel, which is the notable peak South of Lake Bohinj. To the North range the Karavanke mountains, and the many ridges of Eastern Austria can be seen.
On stage 3 of our 5 stage tour, the Hribarice plateau, a wild landscape of limestone twists and turns appeals. The feeling of remote mountain terrain dominates and is quite unlike many of our busier Alpine hikes.
Trips
Alpine Exploratory offers the following holidays based on our Julian Alps research:
Julian Alps Hut-to-Hut
Our self-guided holidays give you what you need to complete the route under your own steam. We book your accommodation in a mix of huts and hotels and we give you our detailed routecards, the local maps, and lots of notes.
Research
Alpine Exploratory's latest research on the Julian Alps was led by:
Steph in July
Recces 2023
Alpine Exploratory Leader
The Walking
The lie of the land
The Julian Alps sit at the far Eastern end of the Alpine chain. These beige and light grey coloured mountains - limestone - rise to a high point of 2,864m at Triglav, the highest mountain in Slovenia. Karst is the name given to this upland limestone country with its characteristic holes, gorges and caves. Water is consequently often hard to find in the mountains.
The Triglav National Park (Triglavski Narodni Park) was established in 1981 after several previous incarnations. It covers over 84,000 hectares, most of the Julian Alps. Our route is contained within the National Park.
We use Ribcev Laz on Lake Bohinj as our main base. In the valleys around the town the traditional way of life is much in evidence, with old barns next to the roadside, tiled with shingle. The local trade was iron smelting and more recently farming.
What's it like underfoot?
High up, the topography is one of high peaks and karst plateaux formed from limestone and its typically exciting natural features. On these higher slopes, the single-track paths are uniformly rocky, meaning underfoot will be jagged rocks and sometimes scree. Chains aid the hard sections, and steep drops are common.
On lower slopes, below around 1,600m, forests are predominant. In many areas they are positively unavoidable - except that in any section of forest there is always a refreshing meadow to come across. Trees are a natural mixture of larch, spruce, beech and pine. The forest paths are hard-packed and rooty, generally giving good walking. Added to the mix are wide tracks on lower slopes, and country lanes in the valleys.
Is the walking technically difficult?
Our Julian Alps routes are walks as opposed to climbs or via ferrata routes. There is no glacier walking and no rock climbing. There are however some sections where the path crosses rocky and steep ground, plus sections with metal cables as handrails over normal Alpine walking terrain.
Some stages cross open, unforgiving terrain without easy escape routes: full days of mountain walking calling for self-reliance especially in wet weather with bad visibility. Phone signal is scarce accross the area.
Is the route obvious?
The paths in the Julian Alps are aided by very frequent waymarking, by which we mean paint flashes in the classic Alpine white-red-white stripes, and red dots on rocks. However, this only tells the walker that they are on a path - not which path it is! Most junctions have some form of direction signpost, or hut or pass names painted in red on boulders. Signposts are an attractive metal design in red with white lettering.
It is essential for all parties in the Julian Alps to have at least one competent navigator with a map and compass, for those situations where the route is not marked at a turning or where the clouds have closed in. Our routecards, notes and maps give you all you need to complete the trek under your own steam.
Is it for me?
The characteristic rocky terrain makes the Julian Alps a relatively specialised destination, harder to recommend to all groups. Against this, the densely-packed huts help break up the distances. Coffee breaks can be frequent! We keep our daily distances manageable in the Julian Alps, letting walkers explore side trails and pace their arrival at the next hut.
Our Hut-to-Hut route goes higher up the slopes, and is similar in technical difficulty to the Walker's Haute Route or Alta Via 1 in that rocky situations can occur at regular intervals along the trail. We hope that hikers used to the longer daily distances and easier terrain more common on Alpine treks will adapt quickly to the Julian Alps, where the lifestyle is really the other way around!
For our clients familiar with the Lake District in the UK, think of the Julian Alps as similar in extent... but over twice the height to the highest summit (Triglav of course) and with mountain huts at regular intervals.
What will the weather be like?
It is very hard to predict the weather in advance, and the weather in the mountains is very changeable! The typical summer's day in the Alps brings hot sun, perhaps with rain or afternoon storms, but in any case paths clear of snow.
During each summer season, snow falls on typically two or three or more occasions. It tends to go away equally quickly and tends not to be deep at the altitude of our Julian Alps routes, but for the time it remains it can make navigation even more challenging. Under a cover of snow, ground features are hidden and reliance on map and compass skills is key.
When to go?
Our Julian Alps season runs from mid-July to mid-September.
This short season is imposed by the weather: the chance of late-Spring snow patches remaining into early July across the higher passes, and the chance of the weather deteriorating into late September. Because we can't predict the weather for the coming summer, we have to set these dates in advance.
Julian Alps Hut Culture
The Julian Alps is a region notable for its many mountain huts. A typical edifice is a double-storied 'house' (dom) with a pitched roof. Shingle tiles - wooden - cover the outside walls; shutters sit either side of the windows.
Tables will be arrayed on the patio outside, busy at lunchtimes and into the afternoon with walkers pausing for drinks and food. Inside, the tiled stove...always the tiled stove! This is a feature of Austrian and German areas, as well as Slovenian; it sits in a corner or even in the middle of the dining room. Seats - again like Austria - tend to be around big tables which it is common to share with other groups. The theme is pragmatic, egalitarian and sociable.
Hut facilities
Many of the huts we use are remote, with all supplies coming in by helicopter! They are therefore a little more rustic than some of the lower huts encountered elsewhere in the Alps.
Especially in higher areas of the Julian Alps, the huts are smaller buildings. Beds will tend towards dormitories, as well as a mix of smaller 2- or 4-person bunk rooms. (We will advise on the sleeping arrangements according to your particular schedule.)
Showers are available in lower and bigger huts, less often in higher and smaller huts (it can depend too on water supply!). In some cases the bathrooms (with drop toilets) are located in outbuildings - more rustic than others in the Alps. Always the basics of life are supported, and this includes a simple menu of large portions, and plenty of beer, coffee and soft drinks.
Food
Hearty food is common in the Slovenian huts - think polenta, stew and goulash! Unlike in many Alpine areas, packed lunches are not common. Instead Slovenians tend to stop for lunch in a passing hut. This means a long lunch break, with hot food and perhaps a beer. This ties in well with the shorter days and relaxed hiking style.
Accomodatoin in the Valleys
In the valleys, we have grown to know family-run hotels in Bohinj. The roughly transferable rating would be 3* or 4* and comfort is high, with a good breakfast included and often dinner available in-house. There is a lake-side town buzz and a selection of restaurants as well as the hotels.
The Julian Alps in context
The Julian Alps relative to treks in the UK
UK hillwalkers might enjoy the Julian Alps as a super-charged Lake District. Think of Scafell Pike's upper slopes from Great End; the highest points of Slovenia have similarities in rocky ground and ins-and-outs of terrain. The Julian Alps rise to 2,800m instead of 900m but the feeling is reasonably comparable! To the trekking element, the Coast to Coast has longer days in terms of distance than our Julian Alps treks; purposefully we leave time to explore paths to the side.
The Julian Alps relative to the TMB and the Walker's Haute Route
The Julian Alps adds an interesting Alpine counter-point to the classic duo of the Tour du Mont Blanc and Walker's Haute Route. For starters, the area is less extensive and our holidays are 3, 4 or 5 days long instead of a fortnight. Longer trips are possible with clever choice of routes so as not to repeat paths, or need to drop to a valley and re-ascend the full height to the far side. In terrain, the Julian Alps at their hardest are like the Haute Route, in presenting steep drops to left, right or both at once. This is classic, hard, Alpine trekking; the level of difficulty is a step up from the TMB.
This is our comparison based on our own research: each trek has different possible configurations, each giving a different feel to the route.
City breaks after trekking
Our Julian Alps holidays come with notes on the following cities, in your info pack:
Ljubljana in Slovenia
Venice in Italy
City breaks after hiking in the Alps
Hike the Julian Alps with Alpine Exploratory
Alpine Exploratory offers one self-guided option in the Julian Alps, plus private guided trips. We're also pleased to book shorter or longer sub-sections of the routes according to your available dates... and a weekend trip can work with care. Please contact us to discuss options.
Our self-guided holidays give you what you need to complete the route under your own steam. We book your accommodation in a mix of huts and hotels and we give you our detailed routecards, the local maps, and lots of notes. Importantly we will advise on the ideal schedule and accommodation to suit your approach to the Julian Alps. Our private guided trips are similar but give you the benefit of an Alpine Exploratory leader to show the way.
Please ask us any time for more details. Please feel free to describe your walking experience and preferences, and we'll suggest which trek you might enjoy most.
Keep up with us on Facebook, Instagram, and our Blog for photos and updates from our own travels and clients' trips.
  Julian Alps enquiry form
|
Alpine Exploratory
+44 (0)131 214 1144
