Highlights:

• villages Pliskovica, Kregolišče in Volčji Grad
• hillfort Velika Griža
• java and dry masonry stone house
• villages Gorjansko, Ivanji Grad and Zagrajec
• hillfort Birth
• village Lipa
• hillfort Lipovnik
• villages Škrbina and Sveto
• hillfort Martinišče
• villages Komen, Gabrovica, Kobjeglava, Tupelče and Hruševica

Price includes:

• morning welcome snack
• a visit to an organic farm with product tasting
• lunch
• travel management and organization

Tour description:

From our starting point at the Sežana railway station, a considerable part of the route will be waiting for us until the first stop in the village of Pliskovica. In Pliskovica we will stop by the village fountain and see the Pergola of European Friendship, and then continue along the forest path to one of the smallest karst villages Kregolišče. Among the dry masonry stone fences, we will continue towards Volčji Grad, where we will stop at a biodynamic farm, where we will refresh ourselves with a snack.

In the immediate vicinity of the village Volčji Grad is one of the best preserved and also the largest hillforts Debela griža. The path through it is called the Stone Path and will continue to lead us to the former quarry – java, as they were once called. We will also pass the dry masonry shepherd’s house and at the end, already in the village of Gorjansko, also past the still living stonecutter.

In the direction of the village Ivanji Grad we will again use cart tracks, which will take us past a piece of Provence – lavender fields, at the end of June already colored in purple tones. In the village of Ivanji grad we will stop at the local church with a beautiful view, from where there will be only a short way to the next hillfort Brith above the village Zagrajec. The prehistoric hillfort with beautifully preserved remains of the walls has changed its use several times throughout history, most recently there was a church with a cemetery, whence the name.

We will continue through the forests to the village of Lipa, from where we will climb the “black hills”, where the Lipnik hillfort once stood. Also in its location, later, in the Middle Ages, the church of St. Catherine with the Way of God was built. From the almost demolished church today, there is a beautiful view of the Kras, the Vipava Valley and beyond.

From St. Catherine’s we descend to the village of Škrbina, where we visit the church and the center of the village and continue along the ancient path to the village of Sveto. The path leads us through the last of the hillforts on our path Martinišče, from which a lot of archeological remains remain in the nearby fields. In the Middle Ages the church of Sv. Miklavž has been built at the hillfort, of which only unrecognizable ruins remain today.

Sveto is one of the most beautiful karst villages, in the center of which is a cemetery from World War I, a huge well (“štirna”l), an interesting octagonal church and a hundred-year-old linden tree with a completely hollow trunk.

Continuing the route, we cycle through the forest past the next military cemetery to Komen, and then through the village of Gabrovica to the Štanjel railway station, from where a local train will take us to Sežana.

Overall Tour Level:: 

Irena Hlede is an architect by her profession, but she has worked in the fields of graphic design, journalism and sustainable mobility as well. It was engaged in many sports activities, from sailing to skiing or badminton, but the common thread throughout remains cycling. She regularly participates in the non-governmental organization Slovenska kolesarska mreža (Slovenian Cyclists network) as well as with the European Cycling Federation ECF, lectures on cycling and remains loyal to long-distance cycling. In this field, she completed several trainings – among others for the Assessor under the scheme “Cycle Friendly Employer”, Development of Mobility Plans and for the EuroVelo Route Inspector. She obtained the title and knowledge of a tourist guide at the national level, too, and is the founder and owner of the travel agency GremoZeleno – GoGreenWay. In addition to the in the university obtained areas of architecture and art, she is also keenly interested in ethnology, geography and history with an emphasis on everything related to the local tradition, especially some less known areas, such as the indigenous religion and the people who followed it. She also researches many “borderline” skills, such as dowsing or geomancy. It is a convinced environmentalist and an opponent of violence and wars in general.

She speaks English and French and, of course, Croatian and Serbian.