NANOS PLATEAU
VIA ALPINA – DAY 03: 24 JUNE 2026
RAZDRTO TO JAVORNIK
DISTANCE HIKED: 31.8 km
ELEVATION GAIN: 1,580 m
TOTAL DISTANCE HIKED: 89.9 km
TOTAL ELEVATION GAIN: 3,660 m
Today was a day of two halves. The morning a spectecular hike up Nanos Plateau and the afternoon a long uphill slog on a dirt-road, often exposed to the sun. The route offered no distant views.
A constant hum of traffic from a nearby freeway was our serenade to sleep last night. Despite the hum of traffic, we both slept reasonably well.
We woke to a cool morning. Nice respite from the heat, although it did not last. By the time we left camp, the temperature was already rising. From our campsite we looked straight up Nanos Plateau. It dominated the skyline. It seemed impossible that anyone could climb it. But as we soon found out, that was our task for Section R4 of the trail.
We were daunted by the prospect of a 6 km hike up the mountain. The first few kilometres were steep and rocky. Eventually the trail leveled off a little and the hum of the freeway traffic was replaced by the most amazing green forest, a cooling breezes and the sound of birds twittering. Our sweaty labour was further rewarded with wildflower covered meadows to walk through and great views of the valley below.
We made the summit of Pleša Peak, the highest peak on the Plateau, and stopped for a coke and coffee at the guesthouse on top, before commencing the descent.
The descent was nothing short of magical. Quite, cool forest with soft leaves underfoot. Light filtering through the canopy of enormous trees brought to mind sections of the Appalachian Trail.
After the most delightful forested descent of Nanos Plateau, we finished Stage R4 to a faint ordour of cow manure. The trail passed through a small village called Strane. The village had an amazing church with a copper covered steeple. It stood quite elegantly above all the other buildings. As we were leaving, church bells chimed announcing mid-day.
The next couple of hours we meandered though the pleasant countryside heading towards Predjama Castle with fading distant views of Nanos Plateau behind us.
Predjama Castle is an unusual structure – a castle built into a cave. A very popular site and today despite the stifling heat, the carpark was full.
We got lunch here and sat in the shade for a bit. The castle looked quite interesting and we would love to have gone in for a tour. But today it was just too hot. The castles location felt like a heat trap today, with hardly any air movement.
From the castle we joined a dirt road and stayed on it for the next 16 kilometres, almost all uphill. No views as such and often exposed to full sun. All afternoon we saw four cyclists and one car. A section we could easily have avoided given the opportunity.
