Velika Planina

The herding season, from early June to September, is the best time to visit: the huts are open, herders sell cheese and the meadows are green. July and August bring mild days, but afternoon thunderstorms are common. Winter is long, cold and snowy, and the ski lifts usually run from December to April. The cable car and chairlift close for maintenance for about a month in autumn, from mid-October to mid-November.

The best-known event is the midnight Mass on Christmas Eve in the Chapel of St Mary of the Snows. Thousands of people come up through the snow for it. In summer, 5 August is the chapel's feast day.

• The herdsmen's settlement: The oval wooden huts stand in clusters across the plateau, with pine-shingle roofs that reach almost to the ground. About 30 minutes on foot from the top cable-car station, it is the reason most people come.
• Preskar Museum Hut is a small museum in a herdsman's hut rebuilt in 1945 in the old oval shape. It shows 19th-century herders' clothing, tools and customs, and in the grazing season you can watch trnič cheese being made at 1 pm.
• Chapel of St Mary of the Snows stands on a rise above the settlement. The original, designed by Jože Plečnik, burned in the Second World War, and the herders rebuilt it in 1988. Mass is held on Sundays in summer.
• Velika Planina Cable Car starts in the Kamniška Bistrica valley and climbs to about 1,400 m. A six-seat chairlift, opened in December 2023, continues to about 1,600 m, close to the settlement. Gradišče, the plateau's highest point at 1,666 m, is a short walk away.
• Velika Planina Resort is a small, family-friendly ski area served by the cable car and chairlifts. Outside winter, the same slopes are used for hiking and mountain biking.
• Domžalski dom na Mali Planini is a mountain hut on neighbouring Mala planina, a short walk south-east of the main settlement. It is open all year and has wide views over the Ljubljana Basin.
• Gojška planina: Beyond Mala planina, this quieter pasture has its own small group of herdsmen's huts and is a good goal for a longer walk.
• Kamniška Bistrica Spring is a clear spring pool at the head of the Kamniška Bistrica valley, about 3 km past the cable-car lower station. It makes an easy add-on before or after the ride up.

The best moments here are slow and seasonal, and tied to herding life.

• Watch trnič being made: In the grazing season, there is a daily demonstration at 1 pm at Preskar Museum Hut. Herders press carved wooden patterns into the pear-shaped cheese.
• Eat with the herders: In summer, some herders sell a simple meal of sour milk with buckwheat mush, plus fresh cheese, at their huts.
• Sleep in a hut: Holiday cottages built to look like herders' huts can be rented on the plateau. Staying overnight means quiet evenings, starry skies and the meadows to yourself after the last cable car.
• Look for the Kamnik flower: In June, watch for this rare orchid in the meadows. It is protected, so photograph it but never pick it.
• Winter in the snow: Families can use the snow park for children near the ski slopes, or walk to the snow-covered settlement on marked paths.

The plateau fills a full day, but the valley below and central Slovenia are close by car.

• Kamnik (about 20 min by car from the cable-car lower station): A small medieval town with a castle hill, old streets and a Franciscan monastery. It is the gateway town for Velika Planina.
• Volčji Potok Arboretum (about 30 min by car): A large botanical park with themed gardens and big spring flower displays.
• Ljubljana (about 45 min by car, longer by bus with a change in Kamnik): The capital's old town, river embankments and castle make an easy combination with the plateau.
• Logar Valley (about 1 h 30 min by car): A glacial valley at the foot of the highest peaks of the Kamnik-Savinja Alps, with waterfalls and farm stays.
• Bled (about 1 h by car): Slovenia's famous lake with its island church and castle on a cliff.

The plateau is reached by cable car from the Kamniška Bistrica valley, about 10 km north of Kamnik.

• By air: Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport is about 28 km from the cable-car lower station. There is no direct public transport, so take a taxi or rent a car.
• By train: Trains run on the line from Ljubljana to Kamnik, about 18 a day. From Kamnik, continue by bus or taxi to the cable car.
• By bus: Buses run about 60 times a day between Ljubljana and Kamnik. Some buses continue up the valley to the cable-car stop, but they are infrequent, so check the timetable first. Visit Kamnik – getting here
• Cable car and chairlift: The cable car runs all year, with a pause from mid-October to mid-November. Off-season, it leaves roughly every hour on weekends and less often on weekdays. Buy tickets at the lower station. Velika Planina timetable and prices

• On foot: Visitors leave cars at the car parks below the plateau, and everything on top is reached on foot over grassy hills on marked paths. The herdsmen's settlement is about 30 minutes from the top cable-car station.
• Chairlift: The chairlift saves the climb from the top cable-car station up to the edge of the settlement. Check the last ride time, as it stops earlier than the cable car.
• In winter: The paths are under deep snow. Wear proper boots, and consider snowshoes away from the ski slopes.

• Is a car worth it?: Yes, if you want flexibility. Buses to the cable car are infrequent, and a car also lets you reach the upper car parks.
• Lower station: A large car park sits opposite the cable-car lower station in Kamniška Bistrica.
• Upper car parks: The only official road from Kamnik climbs from Podlom towards Kranjski Rak. From the car parks you walk to the settlement: Mačkin kot takes about 30–45 minutes, Ušivec about 40–60 minutes, and Rakove Ravni about 1.5–2 hours.
• Parking fees: All upper car parks charge a daily fee. Pay with the EasyPark app or in cash to the attendant, as cards are not accepted.
• Winter: Winter tyres and snow chains are required. The roads to Ušivec and Mačkin kot are not cleared in winter, so only Rakove Ravni is open all year.

The local speciality is trnič, a hard, pear-shaped cheese made from cottage cheese, cream and salt. Herders decorate it by pressing carved wooden patterns into it. They traditionally made trnič in pairs, gave one to a woman they liked as a sign of love, and kept the other. It is made on Velika, Mala and Gojška planina, and is also grated over pasta and other dishes.

The classic herder's meal is sour milk with buckwheat mush. In summer, look for it at the herders' huts in the settlement. For a sit-down meal, the mountain inns near the chairlift's top station and the huts on Mala planina serve hearty one-pot dishes, sausages with sauerkraut, and cheese dumplings.

Velika Planina is very safe, and crime is not a concern. The main risks come from the mountain setting.

• Weather: Fog can cover the plateau quickly and make the open hills hard to navigate. In summer, thunderstorms often build in the afternoon, so start walks early and leave exposed ridges when storms come.
• Cattle: Cows graze freely in summer. Keep your distance, especially from cows with calves, and keep dogs on a lead.
• Private huts: The herders' huts are private homes and working buildings. Do not enter or look through windows without an invitation.
• Cash: Bring some cash for parking and for cheese and meals bought directly from herders.

For centuries, farmers from the villages below have brought their cattle up to the plateau for the summer. Today about 200 huts stand on the alp, and 63 of them form the herders' settlement, owned by families who still hold grazing rights. The oval huts with their very low shingle roofs once sheltered both herders and animals.

Near the end of the Second World War, about 100 huts and the chapel were burned down. Herder Andrej Preskar rebuilt his hut on the ruins in the summer of 1945 in the old oval shape. That hut is now Preskar Museum Hut, and it shows the traditional form most clearly. The herders rebuilt Chapel of St Mary of the Snows in 1988.

From 1959, a separate holiday village grew up nearby. Architect Vlasto Kopač designed its cottages to look like herders' huts, and by 1964 there were around 60 of them.

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