Upper Idrijca
Landscape Park
IDRIJA UNESCO GLOBAL GEOPARK
This is the area of the Idrijca and Belca rivers, their tributaries, and the surrounding nature. In 1993, due to the special geological, geomorphological, hydrological, and botanical characteristics as well as the high level of natural preservation, this area was declared a landscape park. Visitors can learn about its natural and cultural heritage and enjoy various outdoor activities.
Upper Idrijca
Landscape Park
Upper Idrijca landscape park is an area of solitary trails, deep gorges, lush forests, and unique technical heritage. This diverse landscape formed by the Idrijca and Belca rivers with their tributaries features gorges, geological faults, numerous waterfalls, beautiful natural pools, and springs. Colourful rocks of various composition, hardness, age, colour, and shape show us evidence of life in the distant past. In permeable rocks, karst phenomena were formed, but magma rocks can also be found and they indicate volcanic activity in the distant past.
This variety together with a mixture of Mediterranean and Alpine climates contributes to the diverse flora and fauna. The steep slopes above the Idrijca and Belca rivers are covered with forests that used to serve as important raw material and energy source for the operation of the mine. Today, they have an economic, ecological and preservation role.
The Idrijca River flows from Mrzla Rupa at the edge of the Vojsko Plateau. It is one of the cleanest Slovenian rivers and very popular with fishermen.
Surrounded by Nature
Surround yourself with beautiful nature and explore:
- the vivid flow of clear water,
- the shade of lush forests,
- the rare and protected plants and interesting forest creatures,
- the various rocks and the amazing colours that keep changing and paint the nature in unique ways,
- the klavže (water barriers) and the Idrija lauf (logging railway) – unique technical heritage connected to the Idrija mine.
The nature and the inhabitants of the Zgornja Idrija Landscape Park are very welcoming and will be grateful if you respect the environment and choose to visit the park on foot or with a bicycle instead of a car and if you make sure you use the provided garbage bins to dispose of any trash.
In order to contribute to the preservation of nature and to enable yourself and others a pleasant experience, we kindly ask you to follow some general rules. If you fail to follow these guidelines, you might be fined.
Bus Schedule
From Saturday 25 June to Wednesday 31 August, every Saturday, Sunday and public holidays, visitors can use a free bus circling Idrija – Lajšt Idrija and Črni Vrh – Lajšt – Črni Vrh.
In case of bad weather te bus does not operate.
Parking in the Lajšt Natural Swimming Area
Based on the Decision on determining public parking areas in the Idrija Municipality on which parking is charged, parking in the Lajšt Natural Swimming Area every Saturday, Sunday or holiday between 0:00 and 24.00 from 1 July to 31 August 2022 will be pay-per-hour.
In the Lajšt parking area, 3 small parking lots are available for the visitors. During the week, parking there is free of charge, while every Saturday, Sunday and holiday from 1 July to 31 August 2022 parking is charged 3 €/hour for every initiated hour. Payment for parking is obligatory for every powered vehicle.
You can pay for parking on a parking machine (card or coins; no fee) located at Bar Lajšt or through the EasyPark app or SMS (the app has a fee).
Payment with the EasyPark parking app
Here is a short VIDEO tutorial on how the app functions
There are two possibilities of paying for the parking through the EasyPark parking system (https://easypark.si/sl):
- EasyPark: You have to download the app to your phone and register. You can do this if you follow this LINK. Once you park your vehicle, the phone will automatically locate the area where you have parked. You can also manually locate your parking by typing the parking area code in the app (in our case, it is 1101) or the name of the parking (“Naravno kopališče Lajšt”). Set the time you wish to park there and click on “START parking”. 10 minutes before your parking expires, the app will send you a reminder and you will be able to remotely renew parking. When you wish to end parking, you must do so by clicking on “STOP parkign”. The app will effectuate payment at the end of your parking time. No pre-payment is needed. The app will require you to provide your credit card details (Mastercard, Visa, Diners, Amex) or PayPal only once. When your parking ends, you will receive an e-mail with the invoice, which you can also download from this webpage.
- SMS: By sending an SMS message, you will pay for the parking through your mobile service provider *. The Lajšt Natural Swimming Area parking code is 1101. Send: PARKING AREA CODE [space] complete REGISTRATION NUMBER [space] #TIME OF PARKING to +386 31 20 90 20.
IMPORTANT: The time of parking begins when you receive an SMS confirmation from your service provider.
10 minutes before your parking expires, you will receive an SMS reminder that your parking is about to expire. By answering “YES”, you will remotely renew parking for one hour. Make sure to answer the SMS in time as it has a time limitation. If you are late answering the SMS, you must begin the process of paying for parking anew. If you do not wish to renew parking, do not answer to the reminder.
* Paying for parking is possible with every service provider except for Hofer
User help is available via phone at +386 5 88 88 023 (Monday through Saturday between 8 AM and 8 PM) or via e-mail at: pomoc@easypark.net.
The EasyPark app works on parking lots in more than 800 cities in Europe. Some of the Slovenian towns where you can use it are Bled, Bohinj, Fiesa, Grosuplje, Izola, Kobarid, Komen, Kranjska Gora, Lucija, Maribor, Piran, Portorož, Ptuj, Seča, Sežana, Slovenj Gradec, Strunjan, Tolmin and Bovec. Paying through the app is fast, safe, and, most of all, contactless as the entire process goes through your phone and you do not have to touch any parking metres.
Useful links:
Code of Conduct
In order to preserve the natural diversity of this area, the Municipality of Idrija adopted the Decree on the Proclamation of the Zgornja Idrijca Landscape Park including some PROHIBITONS and RESTRICTIONS:
- of picking plants and/or their parts for commercial purposes,
- of hunting and/or collecting animals (fishing and wildlife management excluded),
- of excessive noise,
- of any littering,
- of camping and motorhome camping,
- lighting fires outside the designated spots; and
- of any other activities that can cause significant damage to the protected area.
Aside from designated spots, parking and stopping your car on the road from the Wild Lake to the Lajšt Natural Pool is NOT PERMITTED. Multiple parking places are available at Lajšt but, aiming to ensure a good experience for everybody, their number is limited. You can park your car in Idrija and access the landscape park on foot or by bike.
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