Everest of elevation: bikepacking in Slovenia

The western Slovenian Alps dazzle visitors with breathless views, solitary moments and sensational natural beauty, writes Dave Hall

A male mountainbiker is climbing on a paved road towards the scenic church of Dreznica, a small village nearby the town of Kobarid in the western part of Slovenia.

“What did you do on your holiday?”

“I slept rough for eight days and climbed the height of Everest on a bike.” Not likely to entice the average holidaymaker —– but if you’re reading this, you’re probably not one of those. But you may be interested in a bikepacking, bivvying tour of the western Slovenian Alps.

This spectacular and varied loop inspired by the cycling guru Joe Cruz on Bikepacking.com takes some beating. It’s not the 260 miles (418km) that’s the challenge, but the roughly 9,000m (26,400ft) of total climbing. That’s a Ben Nevis a day.

Lake Jasna near Kranjska Gora in Gorenjska, Slovenia and mountain peak of Prisojnik in Julian alps and Triglav national park behind with a reflection of the trees and mountains in the lake Slovenia.

Some friends in Scotland had mooted the idea. It didn’t take much to convince me. The majestic Julian Alps, the eastern bookend of the range, lured me with its emerald valleys and surreally blue chalky rivers — plus the appeal of exploring it all with just a bike, a bivvy bag, a one-man tent without poles — wild-camping under the stars. It’s not strictly allowed in some places, but you can get away with so-called stealth camping — stay, camp and leave not even footprints.

My companions were properly fit; I only moderately so. Most had shipped carbon-frame gravel bikes, hardy tourers with wide drop handlebars, ideal for mixed terrain. I hired a mountain bike in Ljubljana — a Giant Hardtail — certainly good for the terrain, but a gravel bike is where it’s at.

You can’t (yet) hire one in the many bike places in Ljubljana, but I’m willing to bet not for long.

Would I be able to keep up? Probably not, but has that stopped me before?

Green meadows surrounded by high mountain ridges and peaks in Socha river valley near Kobarid, Slovenia Slovenia.

We set off from the town square, planning an anticlockwise loop, winding out west through meadows melding into distant hills and, far off, the towering blue mountains we were aiming for.

The days ahead were blessed with sparkling blue skies, climbing and descending in dappled sunlight through cool pine forests and beechwoods, emerging red-faced and exhilarated at one gorgeous village after another. Time after time we would reach a sublime grassy hilltop with a gleaming white church at its summit — a national emblem.

At dusk we’d scout out a bivvy spot — a secluded woody glade next to a clean, bright stream, a placid riverside misty meadow, a high ridge with breathtaking 180-degree views of the Julian alps. We’d pass round bottles of local grog and share rustic cheese and sausage, marvel at the stars, then we slept like the dead in the cool air. We saw virtually no one.

Russian Orthodox Chapel, Vršič Pass, Triglav National Park, Gorenjska, Julian Alps, Slovenia,

There are many climbs to test yourself on, but the highlight is the 1,000m ascent to Vršič Pass, Slovenia’s highest. I promise you will never forget the views of lofty Prisojnik and Golicica to your left. That night we bivvied high on the mountain with an epic valley view, and a real feel of wilderness, the highlight of my journey. For others that high-point was majestic Lake Bled, where we took a welcome dip and dinner; or the wild moorland camp above Kobarid; or an exhilarating switchback descent to the Soča valley between dark peaks of pine, opening out into lush pasture, the young river a frothing blue and white.

We had a welcome down-day at Kobarid, where we de-grimed at the excellent X-Point hostel, which also took us whitewater rafting: a blast of energetic fun and elixir for tired limbs.

For the next few days it was a thrill to watch the landscape change, taking in the splendid Kolovrat ridge straddling the very knife-edge of Italy and Slovenia, soon after which the mountains gradually gave way to vineyards, rolling farmland, winding valleys, pasture and beech forests — and one final, exhilarating descent before the triumphant easy ride back to Ljubljana.

The western loop is a superb way to see Slovenia in a way others won’t. It offers quiet paths for the cyclist with huge variety, in soaring alpine scenery as striking as any in the Alps. Do try it, at your own pace. Those eight nights under the stars totally renewed me.

— The Guardian