Planina: Karst Landscape, Cave and History

If you are looking for a hotel in Planina, landscape and history can help shape your travel plans. Highlights range from Planinsko polje and its birdlife to an underground river confluence, marked educational trails and traces of the Rapallo border. Depending on which destinations interest you, you can set aside time for a cave visit, a trail or historical sites.

Karst Landscape and Birdlife

Planinsko polje is considered a classic karst field and gave its name to karst fields around the world. Its meadows contrast with a lake that appears periodically. Birdlife is also one of the area’s defining features: Planinsko polje is a Slovenian Important Bird Area (IBA). Its international ornithological significance is particularly associated with the globally threatened corncrake (Crex crex).

Those interested in the landscape and its flora and fauna can find useful guidance on the marked Scilkina učna pot educational trail. The trail is 11.5 kilometres long; 19 information boards explain the distinctive features of Planinsko polje, its flora and fauna, and the flooding. The boards thus connect nature topics with another feature of the area: the periodically appearing lake.

Planinska jama: Underground Confluence

Planinska jama lies on the edge of Planinsko polje. Inside the cave, the Rak from Rakov Škocjan joins the Pivka from Postojnska jama. Together, their underground confluence forms the Unica River. A cave visit therefore focuses not only on the route underground, but also on the course of the two rivers and where they meet.

The standard tour lasts about one hour and follows a safe 500-metre route to the underground confluence. There is also a longer boat tour lasting seven to eight hours. It is available when water levels are low and with advance reservation. The two options therefore differ significantly in the time required and the conditions involved. If you are planning a visit, check the current tour times.

Trails Between Nature and History

The Scilkina učna pot educational trail focuses on Planinsko polje, its nature and flooding. The Planina Historic Trail, by contrast, highlights the surviving traces of the Rapallo border: it passes six sites along these traces. Its map shows preserved border markers and documentary layers of the border. Guided tours of the Planina Historic Trail are available for groups, schools and individuals.

Another historical highlight is Ravbarjev stolp. This striking cylindrical tower, a keep, is all that remains of the former Mali grad. It stands in Kačja vas near Planina, on a hill close to the entrance to Planinska jama. This makes it possible to combine a visit to the cave with a separate historical destination, without presenting the two sights as a single visitor attraction.

Hiking or Mountain Biking

A hiking route to Planinska gora begins in Planina near the Church of Saint Margaret. For mountain bikers, gravel roads lead from Planina and Liplje to the summit of Planinska gora. When planning your time in Planina, you can consider these routes as separate options alongside the educational and historical trails.

Discover more destinations: Šmihel Pod Nanosom, Landol, Hruševje, Postojna, Narin, Pivka, Prestranek, Stara Vas.

Back to the main travel overview: Postojna.