Magical Treasures of Slovenia

Magical Treasures of Slovenia - for hiking gourmets who love nature and peace.

The new guide from Planinska založba, Magical Treasures of Slovenia, by established publicist and photographer Franci Horvat, presents 26 selected destinations for lovers of solitude and untouched mountain wilderness. The hike descriptions are complemented by the author's sincere confessions, who has been going to the mountains all his life, admires them with his eyes and heart, describes them insightfully and photographs them masterfully, so the guide for mountain connoisseurs is also enriched with inspiring photographs of wonderful corners of the homeland. The vital Celje native, who celebrates 70 years in March, invites journalists to celebrate life and the release of the new guide on Tuesday, March 31, to Janezov bivak at Javorca and Vranja peč cave - hidden corners of the Savinja Valley.

Photographer, world traveler, alpinist, and publicist Franci Horvat selected his favorite hikes for the new guide Magical Treasures of Slovenia, where he felt good - heavenly. He starts with the Julijske Alpe, continues with the Karavanke, Kamniško-Savinjske Alpe, Smrekovško pogorje, Mozirske planine, Ponikovski kras, Prekmurje, and ends with Kočevsko and Kraški rob. The guide lists 26 selected destinations for romantics, where special experiences and good photography intertwine, mostly on less trodden paths, marked and unmarked, where you might not meet another hiking soul - or as he wrote: "The guide is intended for all hiking gourmets who love nature and peace. I usually planned my hikes for late spring or early summer, and for autumn, when the beeches colored and then the larches turned golden."

"Dear hikers, on the described paths I wish you as many heavenly pleasures as possible, and that you return from the hikes pleasantly tired but satisfied. Choose tours according to your abilities, because some are really not easy," Horvat advises mountain lovers. Among the more demanding tours are two that are particularly dear to him - Za Razorcem above Zadnja Trenta, where the Nebeške poljane are, the first hike in the guide due to heavenly beauty, and the unique Dedec below Zeleniške špice in the Kamniško-Savinjske Alpe, where light climbing and excellent orientation are also needed. Among the hiking destinations for lovers of solitude and untouched mountain wilderness, Horvat chose Zadnjiški Ozebnik, Travniška dolina and planina za Skalo, Visoki Mavrinc, Brinova glava, Križevnik, Stan pod Utami and Matkovo okno above planina Zabrložnica, remote corners for mountain connoisseurs are Krstenica, Vošca, Janezov bivak at Javorca, Kozice above Kolpa, Kavčič and Golič. A handful of presented destinations are also more visited - Slemenova špica, Viševnik, planina Velo polje and Sotinski breg. Born on Water Day, he also delights with a strawberry selection of lesser-known destinations for lovers of water beauties, such as the waterfalls and gorges of Možnica, Šunikov vodni gaj in Lepena, Vzhodni skočniki of Beli potok, Krvava lokev below Kalški greben, jezero Vodotočnik, Črno jezero below Krnes, jama Vranja peč and Mirtoviški potok along Kolpa.



The hike descriptions are complemented by the author's sincere confessions, who has been going to the mountains all his life, which has often tested him, both with losses and illness. "The mountains are really my second home, they provide me shelter from the flood of information and give me freedom. Here I turn off my head and surrender to the positive vibrations of nature or mountains. I often went on night hikes - including to Kredarica and Jalovec in winter, to Veliki vrh in Košuta - and that was the time when I cleared my head of junk. After such therapy, I feel reborn and gain new strength for further work," emphasizes Celje native Franci Horvat, who admires the mountains with his eyes and heart, describes them insightfully and photographs them masterfully, so the guide is distinguished by inspiring photographs of wonderful corners of Slovenia. Horvat is already known to the mountaineering public as the author of the mountaineering-historical guide Po poteh XIV. divizije.

"Once I devoted all my free time to climbing, now photography is in first place. To be honest, I can't imagine a tour without a camera," admits the photography addict and alpinist, who has made more than 600 ascents at home and abroad, 42 of them first ascents; he climbed in the Alps, Peru, Bolivia, Nepalese Himalaya, Tanzania, and Turkey. The active retiree is also the creator of Grintova pot, a circular path around the Grintovci, otherwise he worked for many years as a cultural creator in the field of photography. The largest part of his creative opus consists of nature motifs, his photographs and contributions are published in numerous books, magazines, newspapers, and calendars. In Slovenia and abroad, he has had more than 60 solo photography exhibitions and is the recipient of numerous photography contest awards. To date, he has given more than a thousand travel lectures in Slovenia and abroad.



The guide Magical Treasures of Slovenia is designed so that all descriptions are presented equally, in addition to the basic characteristics of the hike, Horvat's story or experience on that tour is described as added value, with which he wanted to enrich the guide and ennoble the writing. At the top of the page is the mountain group of the destination, each tour starts with a serial number and the name of the destination and subtitle. Followed by data on the altitude of the destination and the starting point altitude and elevation gain. The difficulty of the destinations is low in most destinations, as they are easy marked paths, there are some off-trail or unmarked paths. The author warns of individual more demanding spots, also on additional equipment, for example a helmet, if we are on exposed terrain. Since the terrain can change due to weather inconveniences, it is good to inquire about the path condition before departure on the PZS home page or call the nearest hut.

"I ask hikers on my paths to treat nature respectfully, so that descendants can still admire the mentioned beauties. In some hikes I write that nature is increasingly affected by ice storms, windfalls, avalanches, with which some of the presented beauties may have lost their shine and are no longer as I saw them. I can say that nature is slightly revengeful for our careless behavior," warns Horvat.



Franci's great role model was alpinist Tine Mihelič, one of the most prolific Slovenian writers of alpinistic and mountaineering guides, who often revealed hidden corners of the Julijske Alpe to him, his brother Jože Mihelič also generously pointed out some enchanting areas of Slovenian mountains. In paving the photographic path, two friends helped him, top photographers Matevž Lenarčič and Tomo Jeseničnik, who wrote for the book: "Horvat's book cannot be classified among ordinary guides on diverse paths or more or less visited corners of Slovenia, but we have before us a textbook on how to understand principles and sequences in nature, how to experience nature in a way that we leave no trace in it, to which humanity in recent years gladly and very superficially commits." The book's editors are Vladimir Habjan and Irena Mušič Habjan.