Predjama Castle and Postojna Caves, Slovenia. Best Day Trip from Ljubljana, Slovenia
Slovenia is a hidden gem in Europe and is known for its stunning natural beauty. This small country is filled with lush green forests, clear rivers and lakes plus picturesque mountains. Two of its most incredible attractions are the Predjama Castle and the Postojna Caves. Predjama Castle is built into the side of a cliff, making it look like something out of a fairy tale. Nearby, the Postojna Caves offer an amazing underground adventure, with beautiful rock formations and vast, echoing caverns. Both sites are must-see wonders that showcase the unique and breathtaking landscapes of Slovenia.
Predjama Castle
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Predjama Castle was built over 800 years ago in the middle of a 123 metre (over 403 feet) cliff. The castle is now a museum that shows the life in the 16th century with an armory, dungeon, halls, living quarters, torture chambers, water catchers and toilets. The castle complex is constructed over five stories with over 200 step and sometimes slippery steps.
The best way to see the castle is on a tour from Ljubljana with an audio guide that gives you all the information about each part of the castle. There are many spots where you can look back down over the landscape for spectacular views. The castle uses many parts of the cave as rooms, walkways, stairs, tunnels and secret spaces. If you would like to see the tour we did, which included a driver, guide and entrance fees to castle then click the button below.
Postojna Caves
Postojna Caves are difficult to describe without sounding over dramatic - however, they were absolutely and utterly incredible. The are the best-known caves in the world, and for good reason. Even the entry into the caves is beautiful. There is a hotel, restaurant and shops in the caves complex.
Once again, having a tour guide to take you to the skip the line was a great benefit of the tour we did. We hopped on a train and were immediately immersed in the stunning caves. It is only 9 degrees Celsius inside the caves and is particularly cool on the 3.5km train ride deep inside the cave system.
The caves were discovered in 1818 and opened for tourism in 1819, without power or the train lines. The cave system is 24km long but only 5km is open to the public. You cover the first section of 3.5km on the train and then walk a very easy to follow track for 1.5km back to another small train station that takes you back outside. The walkways are wet and there is often water dripping from the ceiling, but the surface is non-slip and has hand rails to hang on to if you need them. You follow a guide around the huge figure eight track where you can see up to 240 metres down into massive caverns.
There are many different caverns to explore including the Spaghetti Caves, the white cave and the red cave. There are bridges to cross and massive stalagmites and stalactites to see in every direction. Everywhere you look you will see something incredible. We were absolutely amazed by this natural wonder in the country side of Slovenia and would highly recommend doing this tour. We couldn’t have been happier with our day trip to Predjama Castle and Postojna Caves. If you want to see the tour we did, which included all the entry fees (be aware that many of the “cheaper” tours don’t include the entry fees and you have to pay those on arrival) then click the button below.
Another thing we enjoyed on our daytrip to Predjama Castle and Postojna Caves was the beautiful landscapes. On our way back to Ljubljana we were able to see the magnificent snowcapped Julian Alps.
We always enjoy taking photos of ourselves enjoying our trips - but we were especially happy to capture these memories of our time at Predjama Castle and Postojna Caves. It will be a day we will never forget - just magical.