I had heard a lot about the Soca area and its beautiful emerald green river. The rafting, mountain biking, hiking and ski touring opportunities looked amazing there. I had only ever visited Slovenia twice before. Once was to Lake Bled during an interrailing trip back in 2009, when we swam across to the island only to discover swimwear was forbidden. The second time was during a cycle touring trip and we passed far too quickly through the country, figuratively at least. I certainly wasn’t travelling quickly up the steep passes we ended up on across the Julische Alpen.
Now that we live in Austria, Slovenia is just next door and moreover – Soca valley is only a 2 hour drive away, making it a great weekend destination. Philippe is very familiar with the area and organised a fantastic weekend trip. We drove down to Kobarid on the Friday evening after work, checked into our Airbnb and made ourselves familiar with the local beer.
Saturday we rode up to the summit of Matajur (1642m) to enjoy the well known Matadown trail dropping into Italy, but not before a lunch stop at the Rifugio Pelizzo. There were quite the gathering of road cyclists making a quick coffee break before the ride back down the same road. We however were sampling caraffe’s of the local wine alongside signature dishes “Frico e Polenta” and “Ravioli Funghi Porcini” followed by a rum filled “Tiramisu al Mojito”. Matadown trail has 1400m of elevation loss over varying terrain – from the rutted trails at the top, to the rooty forest trails in the middle and the more technical rocky sections at the end.
On the Sunday, the trails either side of Stol (1673m) were our objective. Parking just above Zaga, there is a forest road that takes you just shy of the summit. After a few hairpins down the other side, we peeled off behind the telecomms tower and made the rather spicy traverse to get to the start of Repetitor Trail. This is a fantastic part natural/part man-made trail descending the woodlands to Breginj. We then cycled back up the access road and made the detour to the summit of Stol, before enjoying the Kobariski trail back to Zaga. In the lower section we made the wrong turn and ended up on the very technically challenging variation. Before the drive home, we refueled at Pizzeria Zagca and enjoyed their selection of local ale’s.
All in all, an awesome location for any mountain enthusiast, to fit any budget and sporting desires. Hopefully the start of many trips to this area of the Julische Alpen.
Mountain Movement 