Slovenia, Italy open Carsus Trail linking Vipava Valley and Adriatic coast
The Vipava Valley, the Karst plateau and the Adriatic coast have been linked with a new long-distance hiking route, designed both as a tourist attraction and as a symbol of recovery after the region's devastating 2022 wildfire.
The 103-kilometre Carsus Trail stretches across seven municipalities in Slovenia and neighbouring Italy, partially running through landscapes that were permanently transformed by a blaze that swept across Kras in July 2022, the largest wildfire recorded in independent Slovenia.
Divided into six stages that take five or six days to complete, the route winds through vineyards in the Vipava Valley, across limestone plateaus of Slovenia's Kras and Italy's Carso, and down towards cliffs overlooking the Adriatic, CE Report quotes The Slovenia Times.
Along the way are landmarks such as the Peace Memorial on Cerje, Rihemberg Castle and Štanjel Castle, UNESCO-listed dry-stone walls, prehistoric hill forts, the springs of the Timavo River, and Lake Doberdo, both on the Italian side of the border.
From above, its course roughly forms the shape of a heart, a design intended by authors to evoke solidarity and renewal after the disaster. The trail markers themselves are in the shape of a heart.
Parts of the trail overlap with existing long-distance routes such as the Peace Trail from the Alps to the Adriatic in an effort to integrate the new path into the wider network of European hiking trails.
The project was initiated by local authorities and organisations from both sides of the border, supported by volunteers, donors and forestry experts involved in restoring the 2,000 hectares of fire-damaged landscape.
The trail is "a living monument to solidarity, borderless friendship, cooperation and love of nature," Adriana Durnik, director of Miren Kras Tourism, said at the launch ceremony.
The trail will also provide an economic boost to rural communities along the route as more than 200 accommodation and food providers lie within reach of the path.
Photo: Jure Makovec/STA
