Notranjska Regional Park

Southwestern Slovenia

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This 222-sq-km park is a real biodiversity hotspot and holds within its borders a good deal of the region's karst phenomena, including the intermittent Lake Cerknica, forests, meadows, wetlands, caves (including Križna Cave) and Rakov Škocjan gorge. There is also a wealth of cultural heritage in the form of orchards, preserved buildings and old hayracks. Great hiking, cycling and birdwatching lie within its borders. The area's tourist office can provide info.

Within the park's boundaries, bears abound, along with a small chance of seeing wolves and Eurasian lynx.

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

  • Ancient illustration (1490) of the Dance of Death in the church of Hrastovlje, Slovenia. 29th June 2011. For editorial use only ; Shutterstock ID 586578413; Your name (First / Last): Anna Tyler; GL account no.: 65050; Netsuite department name: Online Editorial; Full Product or Project name including edition: destination-image-southern-europe

    Church of the Holy Trinity

    27.32 MILES

    What attracts most people to this little church is the famous Dance of Death or Danse Macabre, a fresco that shows 11 skeletons leading the same number of…

  • Postojna Cave

    Postojna Cave

    4.89 MILES

    The jaw-dropping Postojna Cave system, a series of caverns, halls and passages some 24km long and two million years old, was hollowed out by the Pivka…

  • Slovenia, Karst Region, Skocjan, View of Skocjan Caves Park

    Škocjan Caves

    17.46 MILES

    Touring the huge, spectacular subterranean chambers of the 6km-long Škocjan Caves is a must. This remarkable cave system was carved out by the Reka River,…

  • Panorama of the Slovenian capital Ljubljana at sunset.; Shutterstock ID 186963659; Your name (First / Last): Josh Vogel; Project no. or GL code: 56530; Network activity no. or Cost Centre: Online-Design; Product or Project: 65050/7529/Josh Vogel/LP.com Destination Galleries

    Ljubljana Castle

    20.61 MILES

    Crowning a 375m-high hill east of the Old Town, this castle is an architectural mishmash, with most of it dating from the early 16th century when it was…

  • Predjama castle

    Predjama Castle

    8.85 MILES

    Predjama Castle, 9km from Postojna, is one of Europe's most dramatic castles. It teaches a clear lesson: if you want to build an impregnable fortification…

  • White Lipizzan Horses running; Shutterstock ID 342228359; Your name (First / Last): Anna Tyler; GL account no.: 65050; Netsuite department name: Online Editorial; Full Product or Project name including edition: destination-image-southern-europe

    Lipica Stud Farm

    22.12 MILES

    The stud farm can be visited on very popular, 50-minute guided tours. The interesting, informative tours are available in a number of languages; a tour…

  • Loka Museum

    Loka Museum

    26.16 MILES

    The town's premier sight is the commanding Loka castle, overlooking the settlement from a grassy hill west of Mestni trg. It dates from the 13th century…

  • Miramare castle, Trieste, Italy.

    Castello di Miramare

    29.23 MILES

    Sitting on a rocky outcrop 7km from Trieste, Castello di Miramare is the city's elegiac bookend, the fanciful neo-Gothic home of the hapless Archduke…

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Nearby Southwestern Slovenia attractions

1. Rakov Škocjan

0.41 MILES

Rakov Škocjan is a beautiful, 2.5km-long gorge lying some 6km west of Cerknica. The Rak River, en route to join the Pivka River at Planina Cave, has…

2. Heritage House

1.74 MILES

This project, which opened in 2015, aims to preserve the cultural and natural heritage of the Notranjska Regional Park, and to that end it stages public…

3. Museum of Lake Cerknica

2.77 MILES

In the village of Dolenje Jezero you will find the Lake House Museum, with a 5m-by-3m, 1:2500-scale working model of Lake Cerknica. It shows how the…

4. Lake Cerknica

3.02 MILES

Since ancient times, periodic Lake Cerknica (Cerniško Jezero) has baffled and perplexed people, appearing and disappearing with the seasons. Cerknica is a…

5. Planina Cave

3.7 MILES

Planina Cave, 12km to the northeast of Postojna Cave, is the largest water cave in Slovenia and a treasure-trove of fauna (including Proteus anguinus)…

6. Expo Postojna Cave Karst

4.81 MILES

This well-designed, kid-friendly space displays details of karst phenomena in an engaging manner, and tracks cave exploration. Most interesting is all the…

7. Vivarium Proteus

4.85 MILES

Just near the entrance to the Postojna Cave is the Vivarium, the cradle of a special branch of biology: speleobiology. Postojna provides shelter to dozens…

8. Postojna Cave

4.89 MILES

The jaw-dropping Postojna Cave system, a series of caverns, halls and passages some 24km long and two million years old, was hollowed out by the Pivka…