Oval huts
Shingled roofs that almost touch the ground.
Jernej Furman from Maribor, Slovenia — CC BY 2.0 · Jernej Furman from Maribor, Slovenia — CC BY 2.0 · MPhernambucq — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Jernej Furman from Maribor, Slovenia — CC BY 2.0 · Simon Osolin — CC BY-SA 4.0
Velika Planina, literally the Big Pasture, is a scattered herders' settlement on a high karst plateau in the Kamnik Alps. It is one of very few settlements of its kind and scale preserved in Europe, drawing walkers in summer and skiers in winter. Most of the huts are wooden single-room dwellings, with shingled oval roofs reaching nearly to the ground to shelter livestock beneath. Few people live here permanently, but in summer herdsmen bring their animals up to the high pastures. In 1939 the shepherds and dairymaids built the Chapel of Our Lady of the Snows to designs by the architect Jože Plečnik, modelled on the huts. It burned in the Second World War along with about 100 wooden dwellings, and the present chapel dates from 1988. From the gravel track you see rows of grey huts across the grass, the small chapel alone on its rise and the peaks of the Kamnik Alps behind. In summer cattle graze beside the paths, and some herders sell dairy products. The plateau lies about 29.7 km from Ljubljana and 9.2 km from Kamnik in a straight line. Most visitors arrive by cable car from Kamniška Bistrica, then continue on foot or by chairlift. Bring a jacket, since mountain weather changes quickly, and give the cattle space. Be modest and quiet around the chapel.
Shingled roofs that almost touch the ground.
A small chapel alone on a green rise.
Rocky peaks beyond the open pasture.
Velika Planina plateau, Kamnik Alps, Slovenia
Most take the cable car from Kamniška Bistrica, then walk or use the chairlift. Some hike the whole way.
Yes if you enjoy snow, since the plateau hosts skiers then, but the herders and cattle are a summer sight.
