Kranjska Gora sits in the top corner of Slovenia where the country meets Austria and Italy, and it works as a base in both directions — a ski resort from December to March, and from June a walking, cycling and climbing centre at the foot of the Julian Alps. The town itself is small; what it gives you is access.
The headline drive is the Vršič Pass, the highest road pass in Slovenia at 1,611 metres. Fifty numbered hairpin bends climb and descend it, twenty-four on the northern side, and long stretches are still the original 1915 cobbles — the road was built by Russian prisoners of war during the First World War, hundreds of whom died in an avalanche during its construction. The wooden Russian Chapel on the northern approach is their memorial and is worth the stop. Over the top the road drops into the Soča Valley, which makes Kranjska Gora and Bovec two ends of the same day.
Closer to town, Zelenci is a nature reserve of startlingly clear emerald pools that form the source of the Sava Dolinka, reached on a flat 20-minute walk. Jasna Lake just south of town gives the classic reflection of the peaks. Planica, a few kilometres west, is the ski-flying valley where the world distance record has repeatedly been set, and its Nordic centre is open to visitors year-round. None of this costs anything to see; the money goes on lift passes in winter. The pass itself normally closes under snow from around November to May — check before committing to the route.
