Velika Planina

Velika Planina (the Big Pasture Plateau) is a high alpine pasture in the Kamnik Alps at about 1,611 m, in the municipality of Kamnik. Slovenia.info calls it one of the largest herdsmen's settlements in Europe, with about 140 huts; Lonely Planet counts around 60 and notes that only the Preskar hut is original, the rest being replicas (the originals were burned down in the Second World War). The single-room wooden huts have oval shingled roofs that reach almost to the ground and shelter the livestock.

The herders move up in June and stay until September; some huts take guests for a night or two. You can try sour milk with žganci, homemade cheese and the local cheese trnič. Stops include the chapel of Our Lady of the Snows (built in 1939 to plans by Jože Plečnik, destroyed in the Second World War, rebuilt in 1988), the Preskar Museum, the Vetrnica cave and the natural rock window at Zeleni Rob. The fastest way up is the cable car from Kamniška Bistrica followed by a chairlift (about 15 minutes according to Lonely Planet); there are also hiking trails. Slovenia.info recommends weekdays or arriving before 9 a.m. Check operating times and parking rules in advance.