Logarska Dolina Alpine Meadow

The floor of the Logar Valley, Logarska dolina, in the Kamnik-Savinja Alps of northern Slovenia, is a long strip of meadow beside the young Savinja river, enclosed by wooded slopes and a wall of limestone peaks at the head. The valley is about seven kilometres long and takes its name from the Logar farm, one of the old mountain farmsteads that stand along it, and it is one of the best-known examples of an Alpine landscape shaped jointly by ice, water and generations of farmers. The meadows are not wilderness but cultural landscape: they have been kept open by mowing and grazing for centuries, and the pattern of fields, hay barns and trees is part of the beauty.

Glaciers carved the valley in the ice ages, giving it the flat floor and steep sides typical of a U-shaped valley, and the river has deposited gravel across it. In late spring and early summer the meadows are filled with flowers, among them buttercups, orchids, gentians, arnica and many other alpine species, and the hay harvest in summer is still a part of farm life, with the scent of cut grass in the air. The meadows are an important habitat for butterflies, grasshoppers and birds, and they are protected as part of a landscape park and the European Natura 2000 network. Visitors are asked to keep to the paths so as not to trample the grass before it is cut.

The valley is easy to walk. A road runs along it, closed to most traffic beyond the entrance, where a fee is charged for cars, and paths and tracks cross the meadows and follow the Savinja, so there are walks of every length, from a short stroll to a full day's hike toward the head of the valley and the Rinka waterfall. Educational trails with information boards explain the plants, the farms and the geology. Along the way you pass traditional farmsteads with timber barns, granaries and hay racks, some of which sell cheese, honey and other farm products or serve simple meals. A chapel dedicated to Christ the King stands in the valley, and the wooden huts of woodcutters and foresters recall the older trade of the area.

The valley is part of the wider Solčava region, known for its pastoral landscape, its panoramic road and a local breed of sheep. Mountain huts and higher paths lead into the Alps for those who want more demanding walks, and the valley is also used for cross-country skiing in winter.

The meadows suit families, walkers, cyclists and photographers, and the best time is early summer for flowers and early autumn for colour. Bring layers, since the air in the valley is cool, and keep to marked paths.