Natural
Attractions
IDRIJA UNESCO GLOBAL GEOPARK
The area of the landscape park is full of natural attractions. At the entrance to the park from the city of Idrija, the path leads us past the Scopoli memorial botanical garden, which was planted in honor of the first naturalists who came to Idrija and explored its surroundings in the 18th century. It is named after the world-famous naturalist Giovanni Antonio Scopoli, who worked as the first mine doctor in Idrija.
The path continues along the renowned Rake water canal, which was built in 1604 for the needs of the mercury mine and runs from the Kobila dam to the town of Idrija. Today, there is a popular walking path along the water canal, and right at the beginning you can admire the large ash tree of Rake, which represents one of the largest specimens of this species in Slovenia.
The Wild Lake has been protected as a natural landmark since 1967, making it the oldest protected area in the Municipality of Idrija, and today it is also protected as a natural monument of national importance. It is a spring, a lake and a cave, all in one.
If you drive further towards Bela, you will come across the Strug tectonic window on the left side of the road. Over millions of years, the decay and erosion of the rocks gradually removed the highest-lying thrust rocks, and the layers of the lower-lying layer were exposed to the light in the form of a tectonic window.
In the stream above Lajšt, above the confluence of the Idrijca and Belca rivers, there are natural natural water pools called bučke. These were formed in the Upper Triassic dolomite and are of varying depth, the largest being from 2 to 3 m.
The Hag’s Tooth is a several-meter-high dolomite tower (a solitary rock) located at a narrow slope between the river Belca and the road between Idrijska Bela and the Belca klavže (also called Brus klavže). It was partly formed naturally, when the river Belca sanded the bank with stone blocks and pebbles and eroded it, and partly it was transformed during the construction of the forest road.
The primeval forest of Bukov vrh extends over 9.25 ha and lies in a large karst sinkhole, surrounded by precipitous slopes on the north and west sides. It lies at an altitude between 1218 and 1313 m above sea level. In terms of species structure, the mostly beech forest is complemented by mountain maple and fir. All the development phases that are typical of forest life are present, which gives the primeval forest ecosystem the necessary stability, resilience to natural hazards, and self-preservation ability. Dead trees are also found everywhere in the primeval forest, which provide habitat and food for many other organisms. Primeval forests are rare remnants of primeval nature, so we should not enter them, as we want to preserve them for future generations.
The karst sinkholes under Petelinov Vrh lie southeast of Smrekova draga in the Trnovo Forest and are classified as special climatically conditioned karst formations, formed under specific morphological and geological conditions in the mountainous karst world, which was covered with ice several times during the Pleistocene. The terrain is characterized by a change in temperature (and a related change in vegetation, with typical hardy vegetation at the bottom of the sinkholes).
The stream of Bedrova grapa, the right tributary of the river Idrijca, which originates above the Krekovše–Mrzla Rupa road, has formed a picturesque gorge through which it winds its way in numerous cascades and rapids. The gorge hosts a wide array of interesting flora. The Carniola primrose and the common primrose, as well as their hybrid, the Idrija primrose, thrive here, as well as many other species. There are also rich deposits of fossils typical of the stratigraphic units in which they occur. In the lower part of the stream, the remains of wooden water barriers are still visible. The area played an important role during the National Liberation Movement of Slovenia during World War II, as it was the outpost of the Pavla Partisan Hospital.
Above the junction of the Bedrova grapa and Pšenkova grapa, as well as Črni potok and Idrijca, lies the extremely picturesque and difficult-to-access Kramaršca gorge, with numerous pools and waterfalls. The westernmost outcrops of igneous rocks in Slovenia are located on the edge of the gorge.
In the lower part of Črni potok is the picturesque Suha Idrijca gorge, where, due to the significant difference in height, the water descends in waterfalls and rapids towards the Idrijca river.
VISIT IDRIJA
