After a wonderful stay in the village of Kamnik, we headed onward for our last night in Slovenia up the cable car to Velika Planina.
Due to the high winds and rainy weather up in the clouds, we were unable to continue our journey in the chair lift, so the employees decided to put us on the back of their tractor and ride us 30 minutes up the hill in the coolest ride ever!
By the end of our ride we were soaked from head to toe and all I wanted to do was grab a cup of hot cocoa, sit in front of the fire and throw my pyjamas on. It was one of those ironic days where everything seemed to fall perfectly into place.
Although we weren’t able to marvel at the stunning views of the herdsman’s settlement in Velika Planina that day, I grabbed a cup of hot cocoa at the Zeleni Rob Cottage, arrived at our cabin, started the fire stove and curled into my pajamas for a couple hours of relaxation. I was in absolute bliss.
We spent the evening back at the Zelini Rob Cottage for a local feast of goulash soup, buckwheat, sauerkraut and traditional Kamnik sausage (a heat treated sausage from a local butcher family tradition). We played card games, listened to music and drank enough Rušovc (pinecone) liquor to help us sleep like babies.
Since our flight the next day was at 10:30 in the morning, we set our alarms for 5:00am to enjoy the beautiful sunrise over the herdsmen settlement. While it was a struggle to get up that early, it was absolutely worth it (check out the photos).
The herdsmen settlement is made traditionally and known only to the Velika Planina area. These small cabins are covered in pine shingles and sit quite low to the ground. While we spent a night in May there, the settlements typically open up in June when all the herdsmen return to the village with their cattle to produce various dairy products.
Looking for other things to do in the Velika Planina area?
- Visit Snow Mary chapel: Burnt down by German soldiers in World War II and rebuilt by the herdsmen
- Follow one of the many hiking paths around the village
- Learn how to make their famous Trnič cheese yourself
