A Trip to the Vipava Valley

Slap, Lože and Goče

Slap is a small village with a renovated centre surrounded by a few houses that were built next to each other. There’s a narrow road going past them. In the village of Lože, we visited a castle. It was unlocked, so we dared to enter and explore it. It’s overgrown with ivy on the outside, while the interior was stripped bare, and yet you can still find some original furniture. The route to the village of Goče could be described as idyllic and reminiscent of Tuscany. The village with its stone houses lined in the shape of St. Andrew’s Cross stands on a hill, and there’s a serpentine road winding up among vineyards, and we also spotted a few cypresses in the distance. We found a free parking area outside a school and followed stone monuments, walked to the church, chatted with the locals and thought about how the village managed to remain pristine and how tourists haven’t discovered this gem.

Vipava

We searched for one of the nine sources of the Vipava under a cliff. The town also got nicknamed Venice of Slovenia, due to the delta-shaped river source and the numerous bridges crossing it. There was maintenance work on the riverbanks and footpaths during our visit. When the maintenance is done, walks will be even more enjoyable. We walked past double-arch stone bridge and a small round tower towards the town centre, which is small and easily manageable. We visited “Marjanca’s”, where they serve the best ice cream in the valley, and ordered iced coffee, after which we headed to the park with statues and a fountain outside the baroque Lanthieri Mansion.

There’s the Ajdovščina Youth Centre and Hotel in the heart of nature, on the outskirts of the town. The building has an interesting architectural design; with its wooden and stone details and gable roof, it immediately invokes an image of a traditional Vipava house. The interior is bright, warm and cosy, since the main furniture ingredient is wood. All HI membership card holders can book their stay directly at the Ajdovščina Youth Centre and Hotel and get 10% off. You can find more information about the hostel here.

Zemono Manor House

On our way to Ajdovščina, we stopped at the Zemono Manor House – it’s a unique late Renaissance manor with a typical outdoor arcade hallway. The manor now houses a fancy restaurant. The very road leading to the manor is beautiful, as the riverbanks are covered with grapevines and there’s a line of trees winding alongside the road. There are four memorial plaques in the park under the manor and they tell the story of the 394 Battle of the Frigidus involving the Roman emperor Theodosius.

The source of the Hubelj and the ironworks

We drove through Lokavec and descended down a forest road to the source of the Hubelj torrent. There was a lot of water in autumn and it was gushing from a small opening directly in a rock. We parked (for free) at a snack bar and headed to the source, observing it from the road, since you can’t get any closer. Due to the proximity to the water, we were bitten all over by tiger mosquitoes in mere minutes. We made another stop down the road and visited the former ironworks.

The Otlica natural window

We drove to Col and turned left towards Predmeja, which took us about 40 minutes. We made a short stop in the village of Kovk as there was a limestone pavement right next to the road. These are limestone surfaces with deep, narrow cracks that form due to rainwater accumulation. We continued towards the village of Otlica, parked our car at the cemetery and walked for 20 minutes to the Otlica natural window. At the beginning, the path is not well marked, so we followed the Sinji vrh signs and the trodden path kind of by intuition (there was no signal). In the forest, we found wooden steps which descended to a natural bridge. The late afternoon sun made for a beautiful view of the valley through the window. A wonderful sunset caught up with us on the hill.

Vipavski Križ

Vipavski Križ is a charming walled medieval town. There’s a church on each side of the nucleated village, connected by narrow parallel streets, which are lined with rows of houses with horizontal roofs. Even though the town is small, it was granted town rights as early as the Middle Ages. The former castle now houses a school, and there’s also a Capuchin monastery with a well-stocked library and a statue of preacher John Baptist of Sveti Križ in Vipava. The town is very nice, all streets are all laid out in the same style and there are paintings of legends on electrical boxes. The town is closed to cars and there’s a huge car park below the church, and the entrance to the town is at the wall gates.

Branik Castle

We concluded our last day in the Vipava Valley by visiting the nearby town of Branik and Branik Castle, which sits at the crossroads of the Vipava Valley and the karst. It’s one of Slovenia’s oldest castles to have retained its medieval outline. We climbed to the castle tower from where you can enjoy a wonderful view. Inside the walls – around the castle and the surroundings – is a circular path, and there are info boards at benches, which provide interesting information and interactive tasks for children. It’s definitely one of Slovenia’s most beautiful castles that’s really worth visiting.

We were fascinated by the Vipava Valley and its hilly landscape dotted with vineyards, small nucleated villages, numerous natural landmarks, excellent food and welcoming people. Enjoy exploring the beauty of this part of Slovenia.