Explore a land of disappearing lakes and castles built into vertical cliffs along the high karst plateaus. You can visit **Lake Cerknica**, which is a field in the morning and a lake by the afternoon depending on the rains. The drive takes you to the world famous **Predjama Castle**, a four story fortress wedged into the mouth of a giant cave high on a cliff face. The region is covered in the country's deepest forests where you can walk across massive natural stone bridges at **Rak Škocjan**. It is a landscape of mystery where the water moves in hidden passages beneath your feet and the trees grow tall and dark. You can visit the elegant **Snežnik** hunting castle, which is perfectly preserved with its original furniture and trophies reflected in a quiet pond. The small mountain towns offer a warm welcome with hearty dishes like venison goulash or forest berry strudel. You can also explore the history of the military at the park in **Pivka** or simply enjoy the absolute silence of the high plateaus. It is a region for explorers who want to find the true natural magic and mysteries of the karst world.

Littoral-Inner Carniola highlights

Part of these road trips

Follow the routes that cross this destination

The Scenic Route

The Heritage Drive

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History of Littoral-Inner Carniola

The most famous resident of the Littoral-Inner Carniola region was a medieval knight named **Erazem** who lived in a castle built into a cliff and used secret cave tunnels to outsmart his enemies. For centuries the local people lived in fear of the "witches" of **Mount Slivnica** and the mysterious way the water would vanish from the fields overnight. The thick forests of the high plateaus were the traditional hunting grounds of European royalty who built grand manors like **Snežnik** to host their guests. The region acted as a wild barrier between the coast and the interior with deep woods that were home to bears and wolves. Traveling through these forests was once a daunting task but the development of the imperial road system brought new trade and visitors to the cave wonders. In the twentieth century the region became a strategic point for military defense with massive underground bunkers and fortifications built into the karst rock. Today the area is world famous for its cave train and the natural bridges of **Rak Škocjan** which show the power of water over stone. It remains a land of natural magic where the surface of the earth only tells half of the story.

Littoral-Inner Carniola