Wild Slovenia

Tour Code: SVN02

An 8-day single-centre holiday focusing on the wild flowers, birds and butterflies around Slovenia's Lake Cerknica.

8 days from
£1,295 (Inc flights)
Land only price from
£1,115
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Highlights

Summary

Summary

On this tour we will be based by Lake Cerknica, one of the largest ‘intermittent lakes’ in Europe. Around our accommodation we are likely to see Wryneck and Red-backed Shrike, whilst in nearby meadows Quail, Whinchat and Scarlet Rosefinch will be breeding. We’ll visit the peat bogs at Bloke in search of orchids as well as special birds including Nutcracker, Barred Warbler and Crested Tit. In the meadows at Planina we may find Common Valerian and Siberian Iris, while the forests around Mount Sneznik are home to such rarities as Scarce Fritillary as well as a variety of interesting birds. On the limestone ‘karst proper’, we will explore dry grassland in search of orchids, and butterflies including blues, coppers, and Glanville, Heath, False Heath and Spotted Fritillaries.

  • Single-centre tour & with all excursions within about an hour’s drive of our base
  • Look for Red-footed Falcons, plus Marsh Warbler
  • Listen for the ‘booms’ of Bitterns and ‘rasps’ of Corncrakes
  • False Ringlet & Purple-edged Copper are numerous here
  • Burnt-tip, Globe & Southern Marsh Orchids, peat bogs at Bloke
  • Look for the rare Amethyst Meadow Squill plus Clustered Bellflower, Planina
  • Three-toed Woodpecker & Ural Owl live in the forests around Mount Sneznik
  • Knapweed, Nickerl’s & Assman’s Fritillaries plus Chestnut Heath on karst grassland
  • Led by expert naturalist guides

Grading

Grade A/B. Easy to moderate day walks. We travel by minibus most days, but will spend plenty of the time exploring on foot, expecting to cover between about 3 and 8km on a typical day. Please note that some of the trails can be are narrow, steep and rocky on occasion. In particular, the path up to Mount Snežnik and in the forest at Ždroclje involve some steep ascents (around 10 minutes walking) although everyone can proceed at their own pace and enjoy the wayside flowers. Enjoyment of this tour, therefore, demands a reasonable level of fitness and an enjoyment of walking. All walks will be taken at a leisurely ‘botanical’ pace, and a built-in flexibility will take account of the overall abilities of the group.

Sandwiched between Austria to the north and Croatia to the south, and bordering Hungary and Italy to the east and west, Slovenia boasts some magnificent scenery and a high level of biodiversity for its small size. Situated in the centre-south of the country between the Bloke Plateau and Mount Slivnica — and lying within one of Slovenia’s most scenic karst (limestone) landscapes — is Lake Cerknica. One of Europe’s largest ‘intermittent lakes’, Cerknica rises and falls by up to 7 metres per year and is fed by underground springs and snow melt. Covering 30 square kilometres at its maximum extent, the lake is a designated EU Specially Protected Area and a BirdLife International Important Bird Area for its populations of breeding birds, including both Black and White Storks, Corncrake, White-tailed Eagle and Bittern.

We begin the holiday with a flight to Ljubljana, from where a drive of around 90 minutes takes us to our base in the village of Žerovnica on the eastern shores of the lake. Our accommodation for the week is on a working farm (all rooms are either en suite or have private use of a bathroom), where early morning bird walks in the orchard behind the farmhouse are likely to yield Wryneck and Red-backed Shrike amongst other species. We will keep our programme for the week flexible, but we will almost certainly begin with an exploration of the area immediately on our doorstep. A walk of about a kilometre from the farm across a series of gravel tracks takes us to the open, flower-filled meadows surrounding the lake, where we look for breeding Quail, Whinchat and Scarlet Rosefinch. The meadows are dotted with large Sessile Oaks that often host migrating Red-footed Falcons; Marsh and Sedge Warblers as well as Ashy-headed Yellow Wagtails are commonly seen, whilst Bitterns and Corncrakes are more often heard. The fluctuating water levels and regular flooding mean large areas around the lake are devoted to damp flowery meadows where wild flowers and butterflies abound, including rare wetland species such as False Ringlet and Purple-edged Copper.

The entire karstic hydrological system descends through a series of floodplain steps, beginning at the famous peat bogs at Bloke, through the lake at Cerknica and the broad ‘polje’ (large flat plain) at Planina, each site lower, warmer and richer than the last, and we will dedicate time this week to exploring each of them. Bloke (pronounced Bloh-keh) is a fascinating site, where the cool temperatures and poor drainage causes a build-up of peat that is rare at this latitude. We should find Burnt-tip, Globe and Southern Marsh Orchids, along with birds including Red-backed Shrike, Tree Pipit and perhaps a Crested Tit. The meadows at Planina, meanwhile, are richer and less acidic, and the only location in Slovenia to see the rare Amethyst Meadow Squill (Scilla litardierei), along with the more common Clustered Bellflower, Common Valerian and beautiful stands of Siberian Iris. Above the lake, the similar but smaller Pivka river system (along with its tributary Nanošcˇica) is warmer still and closer to the Adriatic into which it feeds. Here the damp meadows and sallow scrub are home to Slovenia’s largest population of Barred Warblers and connecting each of the elements on the surface is a series of cave systems and limestone canyons. The entrances and exits to these caves are a fascinating mix of damp, ferny shade interspersed with bright light and clear blue water, and we will enjoy interesting examples of cave fauna including centipedes, spiders and beetles.

Our focus for another day will be the area around Mount Snežnik. The Beech and Norway Spruce forests here are some of Europe’s largest, with a high density of large carnivores. We may spot signs of the 250+ Brown Bears that live here, although we are extremely unlikely to see the animals themselves! Where the forest thins out the number of butterflies increases, including rarities such as the Scarce Fritillary. The area is also rich in woodpeckers and owls, and we will be particularly keen to track down Three-toed Woodpecker and Ural Owl, which both remain active into mid-June.

Slightly further afield, about 50 minutes away towards the coast and into the karst proper, we will dedicate another day to exploring the extensive dry grasslands which are still managed as hay meadows with autumn grazing. Here we find a rich range of orchids and butterflies, including seven species of Melitaea fritillary on the wing in June: Glanville, Heath, False Heath, Spotted, Knapweed, Nickerl’s and Assman’s, as well as a wide range of blues and coppers and the very local Chestnut Heath.

Each of our excursions this week will be within about an hour’s drive of our base, making for a relaxed week spent discovering the fascinating mix of flora and fauna in this little-known and little-explored pocket of Europe.

DETAILED INFORMATION
Itinerary

Outline Itinerary

Day 1
Fly Ljubljana
Day 2/7
Excursions from our base on Lake Cerknica
Day 8
Fly London
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What's Included

What's Included?

  • Flights
  • Accommodation:

    We stay in comfortable rooms on a working farm. Most rooms are en-suite; some have private bathrooms separate to the bedroom (please contact the Naturetrek office for further information)

  • Food:

    All meals are included in the price.

Reviews
Dates & Prices

Dates & Prices

2020

Departures Availability Cost
Tue 2nd Jun - Tue 9th Jun 3 £1,295
BOOK TOUR SHOW DETAILS
Flights:
Most Naturetrek tours include flight costs ex-UK. If flights are not included, we indicate that here.
Flights are included in the tour cost
Land only cost:
The "Land Only" cost is the tour price you will pay if you choose to arrange your own flights/transport.
 £1,115
Single Room Supplement:
Single Room Supplement.
 £150
Tour Leader:
Please note that, whilst we assign leaders to particular tours well in advance, we reserve the right to make changes if necessary
Paul Tout
TL Paul Tout

Tour Leader: Paul Tout

Paul, a British and Irish citizen, is a naturalist and translator, and started serious birding at the age of 11 before broadening his interests to include butterflies, botany and other vertebrates. He began bird ringing at the age of 14 with the Rye Meads Ringing Group and between 1985 and 1989 he worked as an ecologist in Epping Forest in NE London. Coming to live in NE Italy in 1989, he worked as a teacher in an international school for 15 years, living in the Italian Karst close to the border with Slovenia. Paul was a founding member and first President of the Regional birdwatching and wildlife association, ASTORE-FVG with more than 200 members. He has led wildlife tours in the area since 1993, and his favourite pastime is communicating his enthusiasm for wildlife and nature to others, in the field, via the internet and via twitter.

Why Naturetrek?

Why Naturetrek?

At Naturetrek we craft expertly-guided group and tailor-made wildlife holidays and cruises to all seven continents. On one of our holidays, you can be assured that our passionate team will enable you to experience and enjoy the best of the world's wildlife and natural spectacles in as comfortable and rewarding a manner as possible, caring as best we can for the environment in the process. We are proud to provide:

  • The widest choice of wildlife holidays worldwide
  • Tours managed and led by naturalists, for naturalists
  • Outstanding value and exceptional customer service

Furthermore, as a Naturetrek client, our office team are always to on hand to help you – so if you have any queries about your holiday, whether before or after you have booked, we will be delighted to answer them on the phone. Please just give our team a call!