The ancient tradition of cooking charcoal in coal mines has been preserved in Dole pri Litiji to this day, which is a great specialty far and wide. The smell of smoke from the charcoal piles will accompany you as you walk along the Charcoal Trail.
Itinerary:
- Hike along the marked Charcoal Trail, which starts at the hunting lodge in Kal, leads through the forest and meadows past the charcoal piles and homesteads;
- Visit Brinovec Charcoal Burner Homestead or a different charcoal homestead;
- Descent to the Ben waterfall, where you can refresh yourself with clear water
- By prior arrangement, lunch or dinner at the Pr ‘Krjan Tourist Farm, located at a beautiful vantage point;
- Stop at the former hunting lodge of Johann Weikhard Freiherr von Valvasor in Zavrh, a cultural monument from the time of nobles.
Charcoal burners light up to 30 piles in Spring and Autumn next to their homesteads on the edge of forests, from which they extract top-quality charcoal. On the hike along the Charcoal Trail learn why wood is so important here and how it is processed into charcoal. Making a charcoal pile is a very demanding task, to which the charcoal burners devote more than 40 days. The process involves preparing the pile and wood, stacking and covering the pile, cooking, charring, and finally tearing up the pile.
The well-marked circular hiking trail starts at the hunting lodge in Dole pri Litiji and runs through forest and meadow trails. Stop at the Brinovec Charcoal Burner Homestead or one of the other charcoal homesteads and try the black charcoal bread. You will be impressed not only by charcoal piles and friendly locals, but also by the tranquillity of nature and forest animals, which are usually somewhere very close.
On the way, pour yourself some fresh water at the Ben waterfall. Refresh yourself with a snack or lunch at the Pr ‘Krjan Tourist Farm and enjoy beautiful views on all sides of the sky – the Alps, the Posavje hills and the Dolenjska hills. Before returning to the starting point of the circular route, stop at the former hunting lodge of Johann Weikhard Freiherr von Valvasor in Zavrh, a cultural monument from the time of nobles.
When to visit: Spring – Fall
Distance from Ljubljana: 70 km
Distance from Litija: 26 km
Starting/finishing point:pri lovski koči v Kalu (N 46°03’56”, E 15°01’59”)
Length: 12,5 km
Duration: 4 – 5 hours
Route difficulty: the route is more demanding and is suitable for active recreationists
Recommendations: comfortable hiking shoes, trekking poles
Along the way, visit:
- Butcher’s shop Vresk in Berinjek, where you can buy dry-cured meats;
- Dane and Vesna Povše in Kal pri Dolah, who make unique wooden products
- Musical Instruments Museum in Dole pri Litiji
In the vicinity, visit:
- Sitarjevec mine Litija with the fastest growing stalactites in the world and a great mineral and ore wealth (27 km),
- City Museum of Litija with all the information on the history of Litija (26 km);
- Adventure Park Geoss in Spodnja Slivna, with 7 climbing routes and one of the longest ziplines in Slovenia (14 km);
- Geometric Centre of Slovenia in Spodnja Slivna with a monument and symbols of Slovenes (38 km).
Information: TIC Litija, Valvazorjev trg 10, 1270 Litija, E: info@visitlitija.si, T: +386 59 940 503, M: +386 70 700 484, FB: Visit Litija
