Slovenia's Karst Region

Porous means a lot of sinkholes, funnels and, importantly, caves, and this is where you will find two of the world’s most awesome (in the very real sense of the word) caverns: the immense Škocjan Caves network that is like traveling through the pages of Jules Verne’s Journey to the Center of the Earth, and the small, more commercial but perhaps more suitable for families, Postojna Cave. But the Karst is not all just about holes in the ground. Here you’ll find Lipica, the original home of the snow-white Lipizzaner horses, which were first bred here for the Spanish Riding School in Vienna in the late 16th century. Not only can you visit ...

Porous means a lot of sinkholes, funnels and, importantly, caves, and this is where you will find two of the world’s most awesome (in the very real sense of the word) caverns: the immense Škocjan Caves network that is like traveling through the pages of Jules Verne’s Journey to the Center of the Earth, and the small, more commercial but perhaps more suitable for families, Postojna Cave. But the Karst is not all just about holes in the ground. Here you’ll find Lipica, the original home of the snow-white Lipizzaner horses, which were first bred here for the Spanish Riding School in Vienna in the late 16th century. Not only can you visit the stud and watch the beasties perform, but you can give it a go in the saddle yourself. The dry, cold and rather incessant wind from the Adriatic Sea known as the burja gives the cured meat called pršut its distinctive flavor, and the wines of the Vipava valley, especially the distinctive ruby-red Teran, are among the best in the country.

About the Expert

Steve Fallon has more than two dozen years of experience as a travel writer and guidebook author, having written or contributed to some 80 Lonely Planet and other guides.