Planica valley trail | Delavnica

Planica is one of the better known alpine valleys in Triglav national park. Valley trail starts at the Nordic ski-jumping centre and ends 4 km (1 hour) up the valley at the Tamar mountain hut.

As this alpine valley is itself beautiful trail interpretive elements were reduced to a minimum.

Vertical timber masts mark the trail. Each with bored-through peepholes, pointing to and revealing the names of the neighbouring peaks; in such manner introducing the mountain landscape in detail to the visitor. As this trail is popular for hiking, benches were placed at regular intervals, allowing visitors to rest while doubling as interpretive elements. Benches are made of half sawn larch trunks mounted against large boulders scattered along the valley. Interpretive boards along the trail cover topics on the geological processes, boulders formation and the U shape of the glacial valley. Furthermore, benches have different numbers engraved in them, stirring the visitors’ imagination. What do they represent? The answer can be found on one of the information boards along the way. In one example they show the weight of the boulder engaging the visitor to contemplate the forces of nature that have formed this valley.

All the elements: the benches, the peak-peeping masts and interpretive boards are made of a local durable larch wood, and are carefully placed to always not stand out of the background, many of them stay buried under the snow for half of the year. The spectacular mountain scenery and nearby peaks are the main attractions of this trail - our interpretive elements just help us to understand nature a little better.