Hotel Pokljuka

Pokljuka is a high forested plateau above Bled and Bohinj in the Julian Alps, part of Triglav National Park, and it is a place where people come to walk, ski and train rather than to sightsee in the conventional way. The plateau is covered with spruce forest, broken by clearings, mountain pastures and peat bogs, and it lies at an altitude of well over a thousand metres, so the air is clean and the snow cover lasts. Hotel Pokljuka is one of the places to stay up here, a mountain hotel set in the woods and known to both holidaymakers and sports teams, since the plateau is one of the best-known biathlon venues in Europe.

A hotel on the plateau offers something that valley hotels cannot: immediate access to the trails and the quiet. Step outside in winter and you are close to cross-country ski tracks, snowshoe routes and sledding slopes, and in summer the same ground becomes a network of walking and cycling paths through woods and meadows. The atmosphere is that of a mountain lodge, with simple, comfortable rooms, a restaurant serving hearty Slovenian dishes and a relaxed pace. Hotels like this tend to be popular with families looking for a rural base, groups of friends, and athletes who use the altitude and the facilities for training camps, so the guests are a lively mix. Check what amenities are available at the time of your visit, since services such as saunas, fitness space, equipment rental and seminar facilities vary, and ask when booking about the season, as mountain hotels sometimes close or reduce services between seasons.

The location is the main selling point. The plateau is a quiet place for walking in the footsteps of shepherds, with traditional dairy pastures where cheese is still made in summer, and with wide views across the forest to the peaks around. Planina Zajamniki is a mountain pasture with a view of Triglav, Vodnikov Lookout gives a panorama, and the Swamps and Marshes of Pokljuka are protected peat bog habitats with rare plants and insects. Local cheese and dairy product sales by farmers let you buy the plateau's produce, and Zalin planinski raj is another local stop. For visitors who time their stay in winter, the World-famous biathlon competition is a spectacle worth seeing, and Hotel Center Pokljuka is the neighbouring accommodation at the sports centre.

Practical points are simple. Free parking is usually available, but the road up can be snowy, so winter tyres or chains are essential in the cold season. Book early for biathlon weekends.

It suits families, nature lovers and sports fans. Accommodations here are simple and warm, and Slovenia’s plateau life is at its most peaceful. Year-round use is common, from biathlon winters to hiking summers.