Putick's Wells

Planinsko polje, in Inner Carniola, is one of the textbook examples of a karst polje, a flat-floored basin in limestone country where water arrives and leaves by underground routes rather than on the surface. The village of Planina stands at its western end, and beneath the hills nearby the Pivka and Rak streams, which come from other basins, meet inside Planina Cave and emerge as the Unica river. The Unica crosses the polje and vanishes again at the other end, and the whole system eventually feeds the Ljubljanica, the river of Ljubljana, which is famous in karst studies for changing its name several times as it disappears and reappears. Putick's Wells are one small feature in this large hydrological story.

The wells are openings in the floor of the polje, places where groundwater rises to the surface or sinks below it, depending on the state of the system. When the underground channels are full after heavy rain or snowmelt, water wells up through such openings and spreads over the fields, and temporary lakes and streams form where there was dry grass a few days before. When the water level falls, the openings drain and the polje dries out, leaving meadows and the pale limestone beneath. For centuries, local people adapted their farming to this rhythm, mowing the meadows in the dry months and using the floods for fishing and, in some cases, transport by boat. The name of the wells recalls a man who explored and described the water of the polje in the nineteenth century, at a time when scientists were beginning to understand the hidden world beneath the karst.

There are no formal facilities at the wells, and visiting them is a matter of walking or cycling along farm tracks and paths across the polje. They are best seen in spring and autumn, when water is more active, and the changing levels make each visit different. Birdwatchers find herons, storks and waders in the wet fields, and the margins of the polje are rich in plants. Boots are useful, since the ground may be soggy, and visitors should avoid walking on mown meadows in the hay season.

The wells fit into a broader exploration of the Planinsko polje. The River Unica is the main watercourse, the Medieval castles (remnants) crown the hills around the plain, and the Novoletni Slotrail is a walking route. Planina Cave, one of the most beautiful water caves in the country, can be visited on guided tours from the village, while Postojna, Rakov Škocjan and Lake Cerknica are close. For anyone interested in geology and hydrology, the polje is an outdoor classroom.