The new European E12 walking trail runs from Spain, France, and Italy, down the Adriatic coasts of Slovenia and Croatia and into Montenegro, Greece, and onward into the Eastern Mediterranean. The Slovenian segment, between Škofije in Sečovlje, is just under 50 kilometers in length, which takes hikers two to three days to cover. They can verify their walk with stamps at three control points: Ankaran, Strunjan, and Sečovlje.
The Slovenian segment of the E12 trail is shorter than E6 and E7
Twelve designated European walking trails cross the continent, and three of them run across Slovenia – the E6, the E7, and the E12. The E6 trail (also known as the Ciglar Trail), which runs from the Baltics to the Adriatic, crosses Slovenia in line from Radlje in the Koroška region to Strunjan by the Adriatic Sea and then continues along the coast past Portorož to Sečovlje. It is just under 4000 kilometers long and contains 39 control points. It can be walked in just slightly more than two weeks, according to the Commission for European Trials in Slovenia (KEUPS).
The European E7 trail (the Naprudnik Trail), which connects the Atlantic with the Black Sea, dissects Slovenia in a line from Robič to Hodoš, which means that the Slovenian segment is 600 kilometers long and has 42 control points where stamps are provided. It can be walked in just over 30 days, according to KEUPS, which maintains a thousand kilometers of European trails in Slovenia.
Ahead of the grand opening of the E12 trail, which will take place in Saturday, the President of the Alpine Association of Slovenia Bojan Rotovnik explains that the establishment of the trail fulfills international agreements, while also “improving choices for hiking and mountaineering, both of which are popular pastimes both for Slovenians and foreign tourists.”
Trails represent an important part of the tourism product
The President of KEUPS Jože Prah also sees the tourism potential of the trail. “The new trail is another step on the development of the tourist infrastructure of the area and the promotion of the region because it will take hikers across three coastal cities past several tourist facilities, which are indispensable for this kind of tourism.” The President of the Slovenian Tourism Association (TZS) Peter Misja agrees: “Slovenia is a hiking destination that offers a wide range of quality tourism products. Working with its associations, TZS wishes to make hiking an even more vibrant product, immersed in local stories. I’m glad that we are opening the new E12 trail, which will help us establish even stronger links with the rest of Europe.”
T. K. B., Foto: Jože Prah
Translated by J. B.
