The wild and jagged limestone Julian Alps of Slovenia are incredibly beautiful and unspoilt, the country boasting fifty-eight percent forest coverage. The hills are very rich with flowers, and although we are slightly late in the season for the Alps, many fine things remain in flower, and notably it is this part of the season we must travel here to see the jewel in the crown of Slovenian Flora, Campanula zoysii.
A tour with Oli Cheney.
Transfer from Ljubljana airport to Bovec Youth hostel for two nights
We will head up to the florally rich mountain of Mangart on the Italian border. As well as magnificent views in to Italy, there will be masses of Saxifraga custata forms along with Campanula cochlearifolia and C. caespitosa, as well as good forms of Edelweiss, loads of Dianthus sylvestris subsp. tergestinus Potentilla nitida and higher up Eritrichium nanum.
On moving to our next base we will firstly visit the excellent Botanic Garden and see many of the plants we will encounter in the wild- and get all the correct names! We will then head over the Vrsic Pass, home to many specials of the calcareous Eastern Alps including Rhodothamnus chamaecistus, and Rhododendron hirsutum, as well as Saxifraga caesia in the limestone screes and rocks. There are banks of the sweetly scented Cyclamen purpurascens and the stand out plant is the white crepe-paper flowered Papaver alpinum subsp ernesti-mayeri.
We will wander up to the Triglav (2864), the highest peak in Slovenia. Of course we won’t do the summit! But the slopes and woodland below are packed with flowers, including Dianthus monspesslanus and the beautiful royal purple endemic Aquilegia iulia. This is also another stronghold of Cyclamen purpurascens.
Although a lot of flora here including the meadows are past their best, such plants as Saxifraga hostii are present, and lower down Astrantia and Aconitum are flowering. This is one of the best sites for perhaps the primary reason for coming to the Julian Alps; to see Campanula zoysii. It appears at a certain altitude and stays with us then in abundance. Once we are right at the top, a totally different flora awaits us with orchids, and perhaps the jewel strangely not found in many parts of the Alps until you head further south; Geranium argenteum. Also up here are perfect forms of Saxifraga squarrosa another special plant of these mountains.
Return and departure from Ljubljana airport.
4-9 July 2027
Per person: 1550 Euros (tbc)
Single supplement: 200 Euros
Included:
Not included:
Minimum number of participants 4; maximum 14.
For more information on our tours
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