Hikers and mountaineers will vote for their favourite trail for the ninth year in a row. Among this year’s finalists are five mountain trails from the Julian and Kamnik-Savinja Alps. These are trails that require restoration because of erosion, rockslides, safety equipment that has fallen into disrepair, or generally difficult and challenging conditions. Hikers and mountaineers can vote for their favourite by visiting the Vse bo v redu portal, with the winning trail being restored with the help of funds from Slovenia’s largest insurance company.
For nine years, Zavarovalnica Triglav, in cooperation with the Alpine Association of Slovenia (PZS), has been using the Best Hiking Trail campaign to draw attention to the importance of well laid-out and above all safe hiking paths and of behaving responsibly in the mountains. The campaign also supports the work of Slovenia’s teams of trail markers.
The finalists in this year’s Best Hiking Trail contest are:
- Bovec–Rombon–Kluže (Julian Alps) A stunning but strenuous trail that requires new steel guardrails and markings as a result of heavy erosion.
- Zadnja Trenta–Bavški Grintavec (Julian Alps) A very demanding hiking trail that is currently closed as a result of rockslides. It needs thorough remediation and guardrail replacement.
- From Jezersko over the Rudijeva Vertikala to Velika Koroška Baba (Kamnik-Savinja Alps) An extremely challenging trail and one that should only be attempted by the most experienced mountaineers. It is currently closed as a result of safety equipment that is no longer fit for purpose.
- Logar Valley–Krofička (Kamnik-Savinja Alps) A combination of easy and more challenging trails. The route requires protection against erosion, the replacement of steel safety equipment and new trail markings.
- Suhadolnik–Kokrško Sedlo (Kamnik-Savinja Alps) This trail was completely destroyed as a result of a rockslide caused by a heavy storm. It has been closed since and requires complete restoration.
Vote for your favourite here by 7 June. The funds for restoring the winning trail will be provided by Zavarovalnica Triglav, with the work itself being carried out by trail markers attached to the PZS’s technical and intervention team.
For safer hiking trails together
The Best Hiking Trail campaign is designed to draw attention to the fact that well-ordered and safe trails through the mountains should never be taken for granted. Slovenia has more than 1 0,000 kilometres of hiking trails. They are serviced by around 1,000 volunteer trail markers whose work is often complex, dangerous and unnoticed. Voting is therefore also an expression of your support for their many years of hard work.
“More and more people are looking for relaxation and challenges on the mountain trails of Slovenia. This imposes additional requirements for trail markers to keep those trails regularly maintained. Sadly, they are not helped by the frequent heavy storms, the increasing intensity of the erosion process and the frequency at which technical safety equipment is damaged. This year, we have the opportunity, because of our collaboration with Zavarovalnica Triglav, to restore and renew one of our high-mountain trails, with visitors themselves deciding which one we should work on,” says the Alpine Association of Slovenia’s general secretary Damjan Omerzu.
Restoration of the ninth hiking trail is under way
Since 2018, when the campaign came into being, a total of eight trails have been fully restored . Work on last year’s winning trail, the ninth of the campaign, will be completed, it is hoped, in time for this year’s hiking season.
Past winners of the Best Hiking Trail contest:
- The circular trail that starts on the Blato mountain pasture and passes through the Pri Jezeru and Dedno Polje mountain pastures, the Vrata Valley (below Mount Zelnarica), Mount Prehodavci, Dvojno Jezero Lake, the Štapce Pass, the Ovčarija mountain pasture and the Pri Jezeru mountain pasture again, before ending back on the Blato mountain pasture
- The Rečica circular trail
- The Bamberg Trail from Luknja via Plemenice to Triglav
- The trail leading from the Kranj Lodge on the Ledine Plateau to Mount Koroška Rinka
- The Hanza Trail, which leads from the Koča na Gozdu mountain hut to Prisojnik
- The trail from Kamniško Sedlo to Mounts Brana and Planjava
- The Koželj Trail along the Kamniška Bistrica river
- The trail from Topla Cave to Mala Peca
- The Logar Valley to Okrešelj and Kamniško Sedlo (restored to Okrešelj)
More than just caring for hiking trails
With partners that ensure that everyone’s visit to the mountains is a safe one, Zavarovalnica Triglav has also supported a number of other preventive campaigns in the mountains over the years, including a campaign that focuses on improving fire safety at mountain huts and lodges. Last year as well, the company supported check-ups of electrical equipment at these locations. Equipment is often no longer fit for purpose and can present one of the main fire risks. Zavarovalnica Triglav have announced that these measures will be continued this year in cooperation with the PZS.
“These efforts, which include the Best Hiking Trail competition, are part of our attempt to make mountain visits safer and more pleasant for everyone. We support the dedicated work of the trail markers and others responsible for safety in the mountains while using a range of activities to strengthen the awareness of hikers and mountaineers of the importance of behaving responsibly,” explains Sara Vehovec, director of the Social Responsibility and Events Management department at Zavarovalnica Triglav.
