The Karst, Goriška Brda & Around

This region is Slovenia’s answer to Tuscany and offers a wealth of attractions with easy access to both coast and mountains. The Karst is a geographical term to describe the rocky limestone plateau that occupies the area of Slovenia just inland from the Adriatic between Nova Gorica and Trieste. It is an area of outstanding natural beauty with world class cave complexes at Postojna and Škocjan, not to mention the world’s deepest underground canyon also at Škocjan. Culturally it is also a fascinating place with a number of stunning stone built hilltop villages, notably Štanjel and excellent cuisine, of which Karst ham and Karst Teran red wine are the best known examples. One of the main attractions of the area is the stud at Lipica, home to the famous Lippizaner horses, a must see particularly for horse lovers. On the north eastern edge of the Karst is the Vipava valley, a beautiful area of vineyards surrounded by rugged hills. On the other side of the biggest town in the area Nova Gorica is the stunning Goriška Brda wine growing area – outstandingly picturesque rolling verdant hills topped with historic villages and with vineyards in every direction producing some of Slovenia’s best red and white wines. The town of Kanal a little further north, located on the Soča river, is a pretty Italianate place which makes a good base to explore many of the pretty hilltop villages in surrounding area.