Julian Foothills: Ljubljana to Bled

The hills between Ljubljana and Lake Bled are one of Slovenia's best-kept cycling secrets. Almost no traffic, a mix of forest tracks, single trails, and quiet asphalt roads, and a string of small towns and villages that most visitors to this country never reach.

This is the terrain this tour is built around — six days of riding through a part of Slovenia that rewards those who take the slower road.

The tour starts in Ljubljana and ends at two of Slovenia's most iconic lakes. Lake Bohinj sits deep in the Julian Alps, calmer and less visited than its famous neighbour, Lake Bled — the Pearl of the Julian Alps, with a glacial lake, a medieval castle on a cliff above the water, and a small island church that appears on more Slovenian postcards than anything else in the country.

Between the capital and the lakes lies the real substance of the route: the medieval old town of Škofja Loka, the dense spruce forests of Jelovica Plateau, the summit of Mt. Blegoš, where three mountain ranges stack up on the horizon, and valley roads quiet enough that you'll have them largely to yourself.

The route follows portions of the Slovenian Touring Cycling Route. Still, it veers away to show you the best of this corner of the country over manageable daily distances, varied terrain, and roads quiet enough that you'll spend more time looking at the view than watching for cars.

Accommodation is arranged at each stop, and a guidebook, built from firsthand knowledge of the route, covers the GPS tracks, where to eat, what to look for, and how to read the terrain ahead. If anything comes up on the road, support is on hand.

Everything else is yours to discover.