At the start of a hot July week, my girlfriend and I went to visit and explore a wonderful natural and cultural gem that’s not yet overrun by tourists: Jezersko. We set off early in the morning. Our first stop was the former border between the historical regions of Carniola and Carinthia – the provincial stones are evidence that Jezersko was part of Carinthia more than a century ago. And so we entered a beautiful alpine landscape through a valley. In order for our trip to be as packed full of natural and cultural beauty, we visited the Jezersko Tourist Information Centre, which was well-stocked with brochures, maps, souvenirs and useful information. The TIC is located in Zgornje Jezersko, near the artificial Lake Planšar.
We made ourselves a delicious breakfast on the lake’s banks, using fresh ingredients from the shop, and then we went for a short walk around the lake, which is shaped like a heart. We then went even further through the picturesque “ash borders” (a line of ash trees on one side of the path) to Šenk’s homestead and Jenko’s barracks, historically known as a lodging house for travelling merchants. Jenko’s barracks, which was said to have got its name after Napoleon’s troops had supposedly stayed there overnight, are now home to an ethnographic museum that houses signatures of travellers dating as far back as the 16th century. The next in line during our visit was Ank’s homestead, next to which stands a small notable chapel. The two waterfalls located in the hilly backdrop, which we climbed to, bear the same name – the Ank’s Waterfalls. Of course, we didn’t forget to stop and fill our bottles with the famous mineral water on our way back to Lake Planšar. The mineral water’s source is located above Ank’s homestead and contains the largest amount of magnesium of all the mineral waters in Slovenia.
After arriving to the starting point by the lake, we decided to walk a part of the themed hiking trail leading through the Ravenska Kočna Valley. Apart from enjoying the beautiful views in the valley, we also visited the source of the Jezernica stream, which flows into Lake Planšar. Since it was close to lunch time, we sat in the car and drove towards Austria on the main road and then had a snack at a scenic viewpoint, which provided with a panoramic view.
Despite getting tired from all the walking, we weren’t done exploring for the day. After making ourselves comfortable in our accommodation in the late afternoon, we set off on our last short trip to the forests of Komatevra. Since it was getting dark, we quickened our pace from a casual walk to more of a slow running, which helped us reach our goal in half the time. The attraction was the well-hidden and inaccessible Krtina partisan hospital, which was burned down by the Home Guard shortly after it had been built. After visiting the hospital, which was located near the source of one of the Kokra’s tributaries, we headed back the same way from where we came, stopping at a tufa quarry. Fossils were said to be in abundance there, but, sadly, we didn’t find any by casually looking around. With the trip, we concluded the first of our two days that we dedicated to Jezersko.
The next day started with some local breakfast and delicious mineral water from the lake. Our original plan was to visit the Čedca Waterfall, which used to be Slovenia’s highest waterfall reaching 130 metres high until the collapse of the rock wall in 2008. The waterfall’s height is now only a fraction of its former glory. The area is currently unstable and dangerous due to rock walls collapsing, so we advise against choosing this path, just like we were advised against it at the tourist information centre. Instead, we drove all the way to the end of the beautiful glacial Ravenska Kočna Valley, which neighbours the Makekova Kočna Valley, which is home to the Čedca Waterfall. We left our car at a dirt car park and hiked the trail all the way to the Češka hut. After making our way through the forest, we finally reached the Štular pasture (Štularjeva planina) and a lonely mountain house that stood in a clearing and was surrounded by tall conifers. We continued through a steep forest and then reached the final part of the trail, which was rocky and scattered with low-growing conifer brush growing from cliffs. In the end, we could finally see the picturesque and famous Češka hut between the trees. We refreshed ourselves with some spring water and enjoyed the view of the Kamnik-Savinja Alps, encompassing all the way from Goli vrh, Velika Baba, Koroška and Kranjska Rinka, Skuta, Štruca and Dolgi hrbet to Mlinarsko sedlo, Grintovec, and Jezerska and Kokrška Kočna. After some relaxation in nature, we descended back into the valley.
We returned to Lake Planšar once more and dug into some local culinary delicacies. We had some pork sausage with sauerkraut and buckwheat or ajdovi žganci, which were prepared in the Carinthian way, that is by toasting buckwheat and white flour, and we also had some veal stew. Of course, such a meal wouldn’t be complete without a dessert. We indulged in homemade cottage cheese or sirovi štruklji, topped with cranberries, and some chocolate or čokoladni štruklji. Our stomachs full of delicious food, we sat on the lake beach for a while, soaking in the beauty of Lake Planšar. Since our trip came to an end, we headed back home, but stopped to visit the final attraction, the St. Hubert’s Chapel. The wonderful St. Hubert’s Chapel, with its famous Carinthian style roof, is dedicated to the patron saint of hunters and is located on a steep slope, right next to the main road. Afterwards, we left Jezersko and the chapel, which bid us farewell in all its glory, behind.
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