Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country located in Europe at the crossroads of main European cultural and trade routes.
Slovenia offers tourists a wide variety of landscapes: Alpine in the northwest, Mediterranean in the southwest, Pannonian in the northeast, and Dinaric in the southeast. They roughly correspond to the traditional regions of Slovenia, based on the former four Habsburg crown lands. Each offers its own natural, geographic, architectural, and cultural features. Slovenia has mountains, meadows, lakes, caves, and the sea, making it an attractive destination in Europe.
The Karawanks or Karavankas or Karavanks are a mountain range of the Southern Limestone Alps on the border between Slovenia to the south and Austria to the north. With a total length of 120 kilometres (75 mi) in an east-west direction, the Karawanks chain is one of the longest ranges in Europe. It is traversed by important trade routes and has a great tourist significance. Geographically and geologically, it is divided into the higher Western Karawanks and the lower-lying Eastern Karawanks. It is traversed by the Periadriatic Seam, separating the Apulian tectonic plate from the Eurasian Plate.
The Slovene Littoral is one of the five traditional regions of Slovenia. Its name recalls the former Austrian Littoral, the Habsburg possessions on the upper Adriatic coast, which the Slovene Littoral was part of.
Ilirska Bistrica is a town in the Inner Carniola region of southwestern Slovenia. It is the administrative seat of the Municipality of Ilirska Bistrica.
Srednja Dobrava is a settlement in the Municipality of Radovljica in the Upper Carniola region of Slovenia.
Grčarevec is a village between Planina and Kalce in the Municipality of Logatec in the Inner Carniola region of Slovenia. In addition to the main settlement of the village, it also comprises the hamlets of Grčarevski Vrh to the north along the road to Kalce, and Kališe in the forest to the northeast.
Snežnik is a wide karst limestone plateau with an area of about 85 km2 (33 sq mi) in the Dinaric Alps. It can also be viewed as a southern extension of the Julian Alps. The main part of the plateau is in Slovenia, while the southern part extends into Croatia and connects to the mountain region of Gorski Kotar.
The Savinja Statistical Region is a statistical region in Slovenia. The largest town in the region is Celje. It is named after the Savinja River. The region is very diverse in natural geography; it mainly comprises the wooded mountainous terrain attractive to tourists, the fertile Lower Savinja Valley with good conditions for growing hops, the Kozje Hills, and the Velenje Basin with lignite deposits, used for electricity production. In 2013 the region invested more than EUR 127 million in environmental protection. In 2013, the region accounted for 14% of enterprises created and 8% of enterprises shut down. The region has good natural conditions for agriculture. In 2013 this region had more than 11,000 farms, which is 15% of all farms in Slovenia, ranking the region right behind the Drava Statistical Region. In agricultural area utilised and livestock, the region was also in second place. The region is a well-known and popular tourist destination. In 2012, tourist arrivals and overnight stays in the region represented 11.1% of all tourist arrivals in Slovenia and 15.0% of all overnight stays. On average, tourists spent four nights there.
Škocjan Caves Regional Park is located in the Škocjan Karst, a vast flat landscape that lies at an elevation between 420 and 450 m in the southeast part of the Karst area. Following its independence, the Slovenia committed itself to protecting the Škocjan Caves area; for this reason, it established Škocjan Caves Regional Park and its managing authority, the Škocjan Caves Park Public Service Agency.
The Municipality of Naklo is one of the municipalities in northwestern Slovenia. Its seat is Naklo. The municipality, established in 1994, lies at an elevation of 407 metres (1,335 ft) and has 5,020 residents. It has an area of 28.3 square kilometres (10.9 sq mi).
The Municipality of Ormož is a municipality in the traditional region of Styria in northeastern Slovenia. The seat of the municipality is the town of Ormož. Ormož became a municipality in 1994.
Storžič is the highest mountain in the western part of the Kamnik–Savinja Alps. The top is a nicely shaped cone, from which the mountain got its name. Storžič has a good panoramic view. To the south are the Ljubljana Basin, Mount Krim, the Javornik Hills, Mount Snežnik, the Nanos Plateau, and the Škofja Loka Hills. To the west are the Julian Alps with prominent Mount Triglav. To the north are the Karawanks with Mount Stol, Mount Begunjščica, and Mount Košuta. To the east are the Jezersko Cirque, Mount Grintovec, the Kalce Ridge and Mount Krvavec.
The Slovenian Mountain Hiking Trail, sometimes also called Transverzala, is a route from Maribor to Ankaran. It covers most of the Slovenian mountain areas including Pohorje, the Julian Alps, the Kamnik-Savinja Alps, the Karawanks, and the southwestern part of Slovenia. It is the oldest hiking track in Europe.
The Municipality of Mirna Peč is a municipality in southeast Slovenia, located in the traditional region of Lower Carniola. The seat of the municipality, which was established in 1998, is Mirna Peč. With an estimated population of 2,800, the municipality is included in the Southeast Slovenia Statistical Region.
The Trnovo Forest Plateau is a karst plateau that constitutes the extreme northwest end of the Dinaric Alps. The Trnovo Forest Plateau has a karst character, without surface watercourses and broken up by closed valleys, outcroppings, hills, caves, shafts, and smaller karst features: solution pans, rills, karrens, and other features. Significant karst features include ice caves. The vegetation inversion at Big Paradana Ice Cave in the eastern part of the plateau, measuring 385 meters (1,263 ft) by 1,550 meters (5,090 ft), is a locus classicus and in the past ice was harvested from it and exported via Gorizia and Trieste to Egypt.
The Udin Woods is one of the oldest glacial terraces in the Ljubljana Basin. It is a contiguous wooded area clearly delineated from its surroundings. The woods is dominated by Scots pine, and deciduous trees include sessile oak, hornbeam, and beech. It has natural value in terms of its botanical features, terrain, and geomorphology. It was given the status of a protected landscape area in 1985.
The Bloke Plateau is an extensive bowl-like plateau in southwest Slovenia, part of the traditional region of Inner Carniola.
