New 290-kilometre cycling trail opens in Julian Alps

The route was inaugurated by representatives of the Kranjska Gora municipality, the Alpine Association of Slovenia and the Julian Alps Community, with a press conference being held before the opening.

Klemen Langus, the coordinator of the Julian Alps Community, which will co-manage and maintain the trail, said that Juliana Bike was created as a continuation of the Juliana Trail.

The Juliana Trail is a 270-kilometre hiking trail circuiting Slovenia's highest peak, Mount Triglav. It was launched in 2018 and it has been declared Best Europe Tourism Project by the British Guild of Travel Writers earlier this year.

The Juliana Bike cycling trail will pass through Bled, Bohinj, the Soča Valley, Gorje, Jesenice, Kranjska Gora, Radovljica, Žirovnica, Vršič and Pokljuka. The route has seven stages of around 40 kilometres each, with three additional approach stages.

The route mainly follows forest roads and cycling paths, with some parts also passing along main roads. With a cumulative elevation gain of 8,000 metres, the Juliana Bike route requires a good level of fitness from cyclists and good equipment.

According to Langus, Juliana Bike was designed as a primary cycling network that will be upgraded in the coming years. A secondary and tertiary network are already being set up, due to be opened next year and in 2023.

The secondary network will link towns along the route, while the tertiary one will run within the towns themselves. This will provide a well-developed and well-maintained network of routes, suitable for cyclists of all abilities, skills and equipment.

Mountain biking or mountain cycling is becoming an increasingly popular activity in the region, added president of the Alpine Association of Slovenia Jože Rovan, who is also the conceptual author of the Slovenian Mountain Bike Route.

The route opened in 2016, covering a large part of the country, passing along all major Slovenian mountain chains, covering around 1,850 km and having an elevation gain of 50 km. The new Juliana Bike route will now also be a part of it.