Tips for exciting tours in the Heart of Slovenia

12. Backpacking
in the Land of
Charcoal
Dole pri Litiji – Kal pri Dolah – Slavina –
Dobovica – Zagozd – Zavrh
Travel through the Land of Charcoal, where the old traditional
craft of producing charcoal by burning wood in
charcoal kilns is still present. The simple people in the
countryside will be happy to demonstrate their ancient
skills for you and show you the land’s ultimate beauty.
You can get to Dole pri Litiji in the Land of Charcoal by driving
past Litija, Gabrovka or by passing by Zagorje ob Savi, through
Podkum and the valley of Sopota River. Keen hikers can leave
their car at a hunting lodge on a small rise to the left of the
main road, which passes between Sopota River and Dole pri
Litiji. The trail is marked with red and white trail marks.
If you have previously announced your visit, a charcoal burner
will guide you along the entire charcoal route. Otherwise
you can explore the trail on your own. After an hour of a fairly
slow walk you will arrive at charcoal burner’s homestead.
The owner will tell you about the life of charcoal burners in
the past and in the present and demonstrate how charcoal
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