Juliana Trail - stage 17

We start the stage in Tolmin; across Soča, through Volče and all the way to Kolovrat, we travel together with the Alpe Adria Trail, which at the top turns over the former border to Venecia on the Italian side, and we go down the ridge to the mountain lodge under Ježa.

The highlight of the stage is undoubtedly Kolovrat, the highest point of our stage Na Grad 1,115 m is distinguished by a fantastic view of the dramatic peaks of the Julian Alps on one side and the friendly wine-growing hills on the other side, all the way to the Adriatic Sea. We must stop at the open-air museum, where we can see the remains of World War 1: caves, firing and communication trenches, machine gun and artillery positions... with various interesting details, such as a spiral staircase in one of the caves and preserved original materials that were used at that time (metal mesh, corrugated sheet metal, stone slates...).

The path further towards the top of Ježa (949 m) runs along the Kolovrata ridge, which rises steeply along the right bank of the Soča river and offers a beautiful view of the former battlefield and the hinterland of the Soča front: Kanin, the Krnsko pogorje, Sveto Gora, Venecia, the Friuli plain, all the way to the Gulf of Trieste. From the top of Ježa, the path descends to the mountain lodge Pod Ježo.

The entire stage is also part of the Peace Path between the Alps and the Adriatic.

Step-by-step description of the route

We start the route in Tolmin and follow the signs down towards Soča. At the cemetery we take a path that helps us avoid the main road. We cross the Soča river on the road bridge, and immediately on the other side we turn left and continue past the older Tolmin church of St. Daniela in the village of Volče.

On the other side of the village, at the entrance to the Kamnica valley, we find a road that leads to the former border crossing Solarij. We follow the road to the first serpentine, and from there straight ahead along the well-marked path over the steep forest slopes all the way to the Kolovrata ridge. On the way up we cross the road once more and catch it again in the parking lot below the open-air museum just below the top of the ridge.

We visit the museum and climb to the highest point Na gradu, and then follow the famous Juliana Trail over the top of Ježe to the mountain lodge Pod Ježo, where the 17th stage ends.

You can find more information about the Juliana Trail at the link https://www.soca-valley.com/en/activities-presentation/juliana-trail/.

The British Association of Journalists awarded the Juliana Trail, which also runs through the Kanal ob Soča municipality, the Best Europe Tourism Project award!

Photo: Mitja Sodja