Every year, 1.7 million hikers visit Slovenia's mountains

Only well-prepared hikers with proper equipment should head into the mountains

9. avgust 2018 ob 19.25 • Ljubljana - MMC RTV SLO

The mountain hiking season will be at its peak until late August. Mountain huts are reporting large numbers of visitors, but the Alpine Association of Slovenia (PZS) is cautioning that hikers should select trails for which they are prepared, both physically and mentally, and ensure that they have the right equipment and are familiar with it.

According to the latest statistics, every year 1.7 million people visit the mountains of Slovenia, where they have 180 huts, refuges, and bivouacs at their disposal -- with 7400 bed places, as well as 10,000 seats. According to PZS expert Dušan Prašnikar, the first half of this year's mountain hiking season – the period up to the end of July – was comparable to last year's. At the beginning of the summer, the number of visitors to mountain huts was relatively low because of unstable and downright poor weather conditions, but the past few weeks have seen a significant uptick, which means that if good weather conditions persist, experts expect a very busy mountain hiking season.

Some huts in the Julian Alps are already reporting exceptional results. Mid- and low-altitude mountain huts are also becoming interesting for foreign tourists and are reporting slight increases in the numbers of foreign visitors. In the huts around Triglav, the share of foreign tourists is about 70 percent. More and more tourists who do not commonly visit the mountains are now venturing there, notes PZS.
Not just Triglav
To prevent excessive tourism in the Triglav range during the summer months, PZS has long tried to achieve a wider distribution of hikers across all mountain areas in Slovenia. The organization is also encouraging hikers to visit the mountains outside of the peak summer season.

A part of the strategy to reduce excessive visits of the highest peaks in the Julian Alps and the Kamnik-Savinja Alps is the development of new mountain activities, such as sport climbing and cross-country cycling. The Slovenian Tourist Trail and the Slovenian Cross-Country Bike Tail also invite visitors to spend time in Slovenia's mountain huts.