Haloze, stretching from the town of Ptuj towards the Croatian border, are a lesser known part of Slovenia. Despite, or maybe just because of that, they offer excelent examples of unspoiled nature and live cultural heritage.
Ptuj is the gateway for Haloze and if you start there, you will first come to the Ptujska gora, with the famous pilgrimage church and a wonderfully renovated village square.
The church of Virgin Mary, is a very famous and popular pilgrimage destination, visited mostly by people, who wish to get well. The legend namely says, the church was built on the location where a blind girl got her sight back. In front of the church is also a pilgrimage centre, where they will show yoou the entire history of the church and the village.
When you go further into Haloze, you’ll reach the village of Žetale, where you’ll discover a beautiful straw cowered renovated authentic house that can give you a great insight of the way life was for our ancestors. If you arrange your visit with the local guides, you can enter the house and even taste, in my humble opinion, the best wine from Haloze, which is a special viticulture sub-region – and trust me, they can make excellent wines.
Near Videm pri Ptuju you will find a collection of farm tools named From grain to bread and they offer board as well, since they are one of the most charming tourist farms in the area. If you arrive at the right time, you might see how they set up the wind rattle “klopotec” or take it down… or you might even find local boys chasing the winter away with the popular whip-cracking method that is a way more fun and impressive than firecrackers.
This is just my suggestion for a nice day trip, but you can also visit Haloze on your own and discover Haloze, which have much more to offer, like the castle Borl, the border village Leskovec, or the mountain Donačka gora with the spring of the world renowned mineral water Donat Mg.