We left wonderful Ljubljana early on Sunday morning, April 7, to make our way south to the Karst region of Slovenia. This region is a limestone plateau that stretches from the Gulf of Trieste in the Adriatic into western Slovenia. There are many kilometres of underground caves created over millions of years. Our first stop were the Škocjan Caves in the SW of the country. The tour lasted two hours and covered about 2.5km of caves and 700 steps. The caves were amazing with the Reka river roaring through it. It was first discovered in 1890. We weren’t allowed to take photos inside but the vastness of it was breathtaking. The cave itself was over 100m high and full of stalactites and stalagmites as well as being the largest underground canyon in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

We then continued south to Lipica where the Lipizzaner horses were originally bred. Sturdy work horses from the Karst region were bred with Spanish horses to create the Lipizzaner breed as long ago as 1580. Whilst the stud farm no longer provides the horses for the Spanish Riding School in Vienna, they have over 300 horses at any one time so clearly in great demand. On Sundays only they put on a show at 15.00 as well as providing a tour of the premises so we saw young stallions still learning their trade (only stallions perform). It was entertaining but not yet polished. All good value for €25pp.

We then drove back north a few miles to the Postojna Caves as you could camp overnight (P4N#41308) in their car parks for an extra €8. That way we would be ready for the first tour at 10.00 on Monday morning.

The whole set up was much more commercialised than the Škocjan caves with four huge car parks, shops, cafes and even a train to take you deep into the cave. These caves were first discovered in the 13th century but it wasn’t until 1818 when the locals were preparing for a royal visit by Francis I, first emperor of Austria-Hungary, that they started to discover the extent of the 27km cave system, one of the longest in the world. The vastness of the caves is hard to convey in photos but it was awe inspiring to walk through.

Our combined ticket also gained us entry to Predjama Castle, 9km away via a shuttle bus. We had heard it was an interesting place to visit but hadn’t appreciated that it really was a castle built into a cave. Half the walls were the original rock face, damp and green as it’s formed of limestone. It was here that Baron Erasmus held out for over a year against the Hapsburg army in the 15th century after killing their commander. It was pretty much impregnable until a bribed servant tipped the army off.

Miles driven since last post: 79

Miles driven this trip: 3,388

Tolls: €0