The Julian Alps of Slovenia.

By Roy Clark  Email (Roy has kindly invited PTR readers to contact him if you wish any more details about this area or Slovenia in general)

In 2005, my partner, Justi Carey, and I were given the opportunity to write a new Cicerone guidebook for the Julian Alps of Slovenia. We had moved to Slovenia in 2002, from the Western Highlands of Scotland, where in the last few years of living there, I had begun to expand my interest and passion for photography. We had both been keen walkers and climbers for many years - it was our reason for being in the Highlands, and it was exciting to have been given the green light to produce a guidebook. We both felt it was a personal opportunity to 'put something back' after all the experiences we had both enjoyed in the mountains, hoping it might even give a little inspiration to others who look to the outdoors for their spiritual strength as well recreation.

Not having a job here in '02 -indeed this was pre-EU time, work permits were required and enforced - meant my role in Slovenia was initially as the 'house husband' and Justi was bringing home the bread, teaching English in local schools. This gave me the opportunity to start exploring the hills and accumulating knowledge for our book.

Since arriving in Slovenia, I had begun to supply images for a stock travel library in the UK as well as a web library, as I found I had more time on my hands. Initially we lived in eastern Slovenia, not far from the Croatian border. The landscape and buildings in the east are mostly very rural, small forested hills, usually topped with a church or shrine, small farms and vineyards clinging to the hillsides, giving plenty of photo opportunities.

Slovenia has three distinct climatic areas: Alpine, Mediterranean, and Continental. Eastern Slovenia has the latter, with hot summers and cold winters, so it can be a good bet for even a short photo trip, the weather patterns being more stable than the NW Alpine region, where most UK visitors seem to head.

Slovenia's coastline is short and can be very busy, the medieval coastal town of Piran offering photo opportunities in the early morning, before the bustle starts. There is also an interesting area of abandoned salt pans at Secovlje that has been turned into a nature reserve- I've not had an opportunity to shoot there, but passing by while on a car trip to Croatia, has made me add the area to my 'future photo locations' memory store.

The Julian Alps is the country's mountain region most known to foreign visitors, and for good reason: stunning limestone peaks, steep forested foothills and incredibly beautiful wild flower meadows in the valleys. The town of Kranjska Gora is a good location as a base to get into the hills and with the tourist hot spot of Lake Bled only about 45km away, easily visited by bus for a day trip.

The Julian Alps can be a challenging arena for photography. When the sun is high, the contrast between the dark pine-clad lower slopes and the glaring, pale limestone peaks, can give serious contrast worries. Grey grads, and polarisers (treated carefully as even the modest altitude of the Julian Alps can darken your skies with overkill) are essential. It is especially true here that the best opportunities are in the early light (dawn or just after) and late evening when the glare is killed and the last light is catching the tops.

Unlike the Scottish hills, strong winds are not generally a problem here in the mountains. I use a small Gitzo- about 1.7kg, steady enough, and I would not want to carry anything heavier. I am still working with film at present; the main reason being that film is the preferred choice of our publisher. I will certainly be buying digital kit this year but expect to keep on using film for a while yet for our latest book project.

The Slovene people have a long tradition of mountaineering. You will meet Slovenes of all ages and backgrounds travelling through the Julian Alps. Climbing Triglav, Slovenia's highest peak, is considered almost an obligation of every Slovene, something that should be done at least once in their lifetime. It's hard to overestimate the importance that Triglav has in the Slovene psyche.

The doms and kocas (mountain hut accommodation), are well placed in the mountains, being usually within 2-3hrs of each other. In July and August, especially at weekends, the huts can prove to be either a real haven, or a necessary evil. They are supplied with sheets/blankets and can offer all the food and drink you'll need. This means you can travel light.

Unlike the higher mountains of the western Alps, there are no glaciers or significant snow fields, so there is no need to carry ice axes/crampons/rope. This means you can pack a fair amount of camera kit in your rucksack - but don't be tempted to overdo it, like I have, more times than I'd wish to admit! The mountain paths can be grindingly steep, often with short sections of scrambling on near vertical rock that is protected with steel cables and pegs. Combined with the usual high summer temperatures, its best to sacrifice a bit of extraneous kit and take an extra bottle of water.

In general, images taken for guidebooks need to be more descriptive than purely aesthetic. A hiker in a scene adds scale and perspective and is preferred in about 70% of picture content for a guidebook. So many times, I've sat becoming more and more impatient and anxious of the time slipping by, while waiting for a walker to come into view on a particularly impressive section of ridge or high path, and hoping they will be wearing something brightly coloured - a red fleece or tee-shirt can make all the difference for a good guidebook shot!

However, a photography trip to the Julian Alps does not require long hikes in the hills. There are endless opportunities for mountain landscape shots if climbing them is not your thing. Modest height gains can be made to find a planina (hill pasture), with chocolate box views of small wooden chalets/houses as foreground to impressive peaks like Spik and Jalovec. Buses go over the Vrsic pass (1611m) - a starting point for mountain trips, but also a good place for minor hikes to viewpoints.

Macro kit is good if you want to stay in the valleys, the wild flowers are amazing and there may be some good opportunities for candids too, when whole families gather to harvest the hay and stack it onto the big drying racks. Also, local festivals and fetes are plentiful.

Its hard not to sound like an over-enthusiastic, fanatical patriot, newly employed by the Slovene tourist board, but this gem of a country rarely disappoints. What's more, I soon realised that photography really has a special place in Slovenian life and culture. Almost every town has a photography club, with regular exhibitions and competitions and even in very small towns, I am often surprised to find a thriving photography shop.

When to go: Mid-May to mid-June is a good time to be in the lower valleys - before the first cut of the flower meadows and when the high peaks are still snow capped. Its also a quiet time and accommodation is plentiful. There are less cultural events and festivals at this time though. July and August is the main hiking season when the high mountain huts are open. Winters are cold and snow plentiful- in January a high pressure system usually builds over the Alps and the weather is clear with lots of winter sun.

Where to stay: The principle centres for the Julian Alps are Kranjska Gora, Bovec, Bohinj area and Tolmin.

Claire:  "Thanks Roy for this informative and inspiring article. I highly recommend his book for any travellers in this region. The Julian Alps: Walking Routes and Short Treks"