Tourists advised against visiting flood-hit areas
Ljubljana, 7 August - Severe floods that hit parts of Slovenia over the past few days have not spared some of the country's tourist destinations and sites. The Slovenian Tourist Board (STO) has urged visitors spending or planing to spend their holidays in Slovenia to monitor information online and to pick destinations that have not been affected.
Škofja Loka
Visitors advised against venturing to flood-stricken areas, including the medieval town of Škofja Loka.
Photo: Luka Krek/STA
File photo
Even though the situation after floods has begun to calm down, many places around the country remain inaccessible and road and rail links are disrupted in some places, while parts of the country are at risk of landslides.
Currently it is impossible to visit the Velika Planina plateau above the town of Kamnik and the town itself, nor the medieval town of Škofja Loka. Inaccessible is the entire Upper Savinja Valley and Koroška region in the north of the country, as well as Koroška Bela in the Jesenice municipality to the west.
The STO has also advised visitors to monitor the situation in destinations along the Mura River in the north-east of the country.
Due to floods many of the roads in the northern parts of the western region of Primorska, as well as in Koroška, in the north, Štajerska in the north-east and Zasavje in central Slovenia are closed. The situation keeps changing and visitors are advised to monitor traffic updates at the website promet.si.
The rivers Soča, Sava, Drava, Savinja and Krka and their tributaries are swollen and unpredictable. Tourists are urged to keep away from torrents, rivers and streams and refrain from white-water sports such as kayaking, rafting or paddle boarding.
They are advised to contact experienced local providers for guidance.
"We strongly advise against hiking in the Slovenian mountains at this time. Emergency services are heavily involved in rescue operations in flooded areas," the STO said.
Visitors are urged to follow the weather forecast and the recommendations of the Mountaineering Association of Slovenia (PZS). According to the PZS, currently all hiking trails in Koroška and the Kamnik area are closed.
Many of the mountain villages have been affected, most severely Luče in the north. The PZS also notes the windthrow left behind by July storms in the alpine valleys of Radovna, Kot and Krma.
A number of cultural, sporting and tourism events have been cancelled or postponed due to the floods. Visitors are advised to stay up to date by following the organisers' announcements.
The Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs has compiled a list of places that are safe to visit at this time, but visitors are still advised to exert caution and follow guidance and the weather forecast.
Visitors are invited to explore Ljubljana and Novo Mesto in central Slovenia, the coastal towns along with the western Goriška region, the Vipava Valley and Kras in the south-west, the alpine destinations of Bled, Bohinj and Kranjska Gora, as well as the cities of Kranj and Maribor and the spa towns of Podčetrtek and Rogaška Slatina and the medieval town of Ptuj.