Fab cross country shortcut to the Lodge!

If you are travelling down to Lipizzaner Lodge from Ljubljana, then maybe you would like to know a really great short cut where you can avoid the last stretch of motorway and see a little bit more of Secret Slovenia! Don't worry too much about place names now, we will give you the exact directions below, but it takes only about 5 mins longer than staying on the motorway and is very often quicker!

The main reason to go this way is that its just so beautiful that if you only knew about this route you would surely take it.. well now you do know!

By experiencing this route you are also opening up a whole range of possibilities in your travel knowledge for further daytrips while you are here. We often send guests off after breakfast along this secret green route, not just to avoid traffic, but because it is an amazing way to get to several of our favourite "Secret places to visit" in Slovenia, such as Idrija, the massive Cerknica disappearing lakeRapunzel towerKrizna caveSneznik castlePlanina "Baby Dragon" cave, the secret Hidden Wartime Hospital and the list goes on and on and on!

    the bridge over the river unica in slovenia    way to planina cave in green slovenia 

Another simple reason to use this shortcut is to get you off the motorway, which is one of the best tips you can receive for travelling in Slovenia. Yes, the motorways are fantastic here and have opened up this little country perfectly. We noticed this immediately and the short travel times created by the motorways makes Lipizzaner Lodge's gameplan of being your home from home & base to reach almost the whole of Green Slovenia in simple daytrips is perfectly possible! But we also strongly recommend that once you are here, you explore the country roads as much as your time allows.. they are so completely empty and open up stunning green mini regions that you simply would never find if just zipping through Slovenia on the motorways.

Motorway EXIT & ENTRANCE Closures in Slovenia, Summer 2019 

There's another good reason to know about this short cut.. in case the motorway is unexplainabubbly closed or congested from either an accident or being repaired.. the problem here in Slovenia is you get very little advance warning of a motorway or exit closure and as the carriageways are only 2 lanes, they can fill up fast if there's a problem.

So you know, since last year, the "Vignette" toll motorway system is being modernised for electronic tagging of lorries and then (hopefully) cars, so the heavy duty barriers that pop up in the middle of the carriageways are being dismantled.. this is great news for the near future as the traffic on Green Slovenia's super modern motorway network will flow even easier when this is all done! But this is not much solace to you if you are flying past your closed junction desperately arguing with that annoying lady on the sat nav / garmin / navi, as she tells you how silly you are!

The great news for Lodge guests is that the 4 different motorway toll booths close to us have already been removed, but it doesn't do any harm for you to know about this dismantling project in case it might be a problem else where in Slovenia for you this summer.

    the baby dragon cave in slovenia    rapunzels tower in green slovenia

So as promised, here is the SHORTCUT ROUTE: (approx. journey time between 20 mins and 3 days if you see all there is to see on this route!) 

Ljubljana / Unec / Planina / direction Predjama / turn towards Hrusevje / arrive in lovely Landol!

 

And here is a slightly longer SHORTCUT ROUTE description with directions:

Leave the A1 motorway south from Ljubljana at UNEC / go RIGHT and follow the country road towards PLANINA (and Postojna) / drive through Planina towards Postojna and TURN RIGHT direction PREDJAMA when you see the little brown sign at the end of the village / follow this road up into the forest and then down through STUDENO, then at the next main junction go RIGHT direction PREDJAMA / go STEEPLY up the road for several amazing turns, then / when you see a sign LEFT to HRUSEVJE, take it and go down the hill until you arrive in LANDOL. Go up the main road in Landol and at the CROSSROADS by the little church turn RIGHT towards SMIHEL POD NANOSOM .. you will see Lipizzaner Lodge immediately on your left!

 

And here is a longer description so you know exactly just what the motorway drivers are missing!

Leave the A1 motorway south from Ljubljana at UNEC / go RIGHT and follow the country road towards PLANINA (and Postojna) this road takes you down through the forest to "the river of 7 Names", which floods the Planina valley in autumn to create the massive Planina disappearing lake.. you will notice when you go over the bridge, (by the way, great place to swim here) that the road over the "lake" to Planina is built high up as it actually goes directly ACROSS the flooded lake area! (But if you come here in the summer you will only see a green paradise) Additionally this river is one of the most expensive fishing rivers in Europe, where you can fish rainbow trout)  / drive through Planina, (look out for the massive storks nest in the chimney stack of one of the houses, if you are lucky you will see the baby birds), towards Postojna and before you turn right you will see the top of a huge, commanding forest tower, which we call "Rapunzel's toweras we have never seen a tower more likely to be the true fairy tale! (Also if you turn left here to the see the tower, there is a little car park and a secret little path down to one of Slovenia's most fantastic caves, the Planina, or "Baby dragon cave"), TURN RIGHT direction PREDJAMA when you see the little brown sign at the end of the village / follow this road (you are now on the old Roman road which was used in later years to transport huge OAK timbers by horse & cart from the Slovenian forest to build the foundations of Venice and later the ship's masts in Trieste).. up and then down through STUDENO(there is an amazing walk in Studeno up Mt St Lawrence, (1,019m), we call this mountain "the stairway to heaven"), then at the next main junction go RIGHT direction PREDJAMA / (opposite the junction you will see a large wooden building called a "Toplar", which was used to protect and dry hay and crops, also this is where the old Roman road is "lost" when it goes directly through the forest, but don't worry, we have found the old road and you can walk directly from Lipizzaner Lodge through the forest on the secret path to this Toplar!) go STEEPLY up the road for several amazing turns, then / when you see a sign LEFT to HRUSEVJE, take it and go down the hill (this is the main road from Landol to Predjama castle, but there are lots of little side tracks that can be used for walking through the forest to or back from the most unique castle in the world) until you arrive in LANDOL. Go up the main road in Landol and at the CROSSROADS by the little church turn RIGHT towards SMIHEL POD NANOSOM .. you will see Lipizzaner Lodge immediately on your left!

Email: info@lipizzanerlodge.com

Address: Landol 17, Postojna 6230, Slovenia

Phone: +386 5620 3443
Mobile: +386 40 47 0239 or +386 40 37 8037

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