Hiking

Hiking in its various forms (excursions, mountaineering) was one of the first draws for visitors to come to Bohinj. The first visitors walked by the lake and admired the beauties of the Bohinj glacial valley, gazing up at the surrounding mountains. More than 20 years before the founding of the Slovenian Mountaineering Society, Bohinj already had the first ever mountaineering society in Slovenia (the Triglav Friends), which also built the first mountain lodge in the Julian Alps. And of course Bohinj recorded the first successful ascent of Mt. Triglav in 1776. Four stout men then made the first conquest of Triglav - the mountain of gods that today symbolises the Slovenians.

These are just some of the highlights from Bohinj's rich mountaineering history. The development of tourism in Bohinj was and will be associated with hiking. This was also recorded in the Tourism Development Programme in Bohinj 2006-2013, which is harmonised both with documents on the regional level (Gorenjska Regional Development Programme 2007-2013) and on the national level (RNUST 2007-2011).
It is therefore no surprise that we decided to organise the Days of Hiking in Bohinj as part of the Slovenian project Slovenia hikes - hiking days, which is organised by the Association for Hiking, GIZ Hiking, the Olympic Committee/federation of sports societies and the Slovenian mountaineering federation PZS.

By organising the first Days of Hiking in Bohinj we want to take advantage of the natural and other features of Bohinj in developing tourism, to design an integrated tourist product, to steer promotion towards certain target groups and ultimately to extend the tourist season in Bohinj, so for this reason we scheduled the Hiking festival in Bohinj for early autumn (September and October).

We are seeking to develop the Days of Hiking as a partner project with GIZ Hiking, OKS, PZS and of course first and foremost with the local societies, organisations and tourism companies, in cooperation with the Julian Alps Community, Triglav National Park, the Association for Hiking, the Slovenian Tourist Board and the Mountaineering Federation of Slovenia.

The first working draft of the Hiking festival in Bohinj was designed by Janez Korošec and comprises three modules/sections:

Section / Module 1 - Recreation
Dnevi pohodništva v Bohinju
Aimed at presenting Bohinj as a hiking destination. It comprises:

guided tours along footpaths,
guided hiking tours on mountain trails,
guided tours along various thematic trails.

With the help of societies and other organisations we will prepare various guided tours (2-3 a day) and other activities, and with the cooperation of tour operators we will then design a special range of packages. We will also devote special attention to families.

Section / Module 2 - Competitive

This is intended for various competitive events in Bohinj. We are also seeking the cooperation of other societies and organisations for holding other sports competitions as part of the Days of Hiking in Bohinj.

Section / Module 3 - Social Activities / Events

This is aimed at various cultural events (concerts, exhibitions etc.), lectures and consultations on the topic of current issues related to hiking.