The route is called a panoramic road, but it is not the kind of panoramic road that you can drive through in half an hour, admire the impressive views through the windows and drive on. The whole point of the route is to stop at key points, visit tourist farms, taste local products, pet goats and sheep, and learn about the culture of these places through the story of the shepherd Kryštof. You can drive the entire 21km route in 40 minutes — but you won’t see the point. So budget at least half a day for the trip. It took us 3 hours for the short route, but it was possible to spend much more time with pleasure.
The total length of the route is 37 kilometers.
- The main section is the central 21 km, which is the Solčava Panorama Road. This section is marked with a green line on the map. There are 12 stops along the way.
- The blue and orange lines are extensions of the route. The blue trail is 8 km long and runs through the Matkov Kot valley, while the orange trail (6 km) leads to the highest mountain farm in the country, Bukovets, and mountain pastures.
- The dotted lines indicate hiking routes. You can follow them if you have a few days to spare. The most beautiful of them is the Logar Valley route, a local mast-visit.

Legend of the road
An ancient Solchava legend tells about the dragon Lintver, who lived in the lake and ate cows that came to the watering hole. Only the tops of larch trees could kill Lintver, so he felt himself the complete master of the land and did what he wanted. Once he wanted to peck through a giant rock and he succeeded. But in the resulting opening all the lake, where he lived, flowed out, and the larch trees knocked down by the stream killed the dragon. The lake was replaced by the Matkov Cat valley.
A lake stream brought a manger with a live baby to a hill in Solchava. The locals considered it good news and built the Church of Mary of the Snows in this place. Centuries later, a descendant of this baby, a young shepherd named Kryštof, lost five of his sheep and set out in search of them along the route that became the basis of the Solčava Panoramic Road. Along the way he was helped by local people and a distant descendant of the dragon — Lintwer Jr. Kryštof and little Lintver now accompany tourists along the route, telling the story of the search for the sheep on all information boards.

What to expect along the way
In this article, I will talk about the central, green section. I recommend entering it from the town of Solčava, which is the center of the region, and finishing at or through the Logarska Valley to the Slap Rinka waterfall, the main waterfall in the region and the second highest in Slovenia. There is a fee to enter Logarska Valley, I will tell you about it separately.
What awaits you along the route:
- Beautiful views of the Kamnik-Savina Alps, the Karavanke, valleys, hills and authentic buildings — alpine farms, dwellings, farm buildings. There are not many viewpoints, so don’t miss the stops marked on the map — otherwise you will drive the whole way in 40 minutes and won’t understand why you came.
- Tourist farms. There are several of them along the route, but not all of them will be open. Therefore, my warm recommendation is to stop at each one, read its description on the information boards and, if interested, come in for a glass of natural morsel, taste farm food and buy homemade delicacies — sausages, jam, nalewka. Farmers are very much looking forward to visitors and everyone is welcome — there are still few tourists after the pandemic.
- There will be only one church on the route, a small, rustic one. There will be another one in Solchava. Both churches are old and hold local relics. If they are open, take a look inside.
- Natural attractions: a landslide, a spring of drinking mineral water, a chapel made of white Solchava marble and caves.
- The autochthonous breeds of animals are sheep and cows. An endemic Slovenian breed of sheep, the Jezersko-Solčava sheep, «Bicka», is raised in the vicinity of Solčava. These sheep are mostly white and are characterized by «teardrop» or «glasses» around the eyes. They are perfectly adapted to their environment: their powerful and long legs allow them to easily conquer steep slopes of mountain pastures, and their wool has always been considered of high quality. Sheep are an important part of the natural and cultural heritage, Slovenia is proud of them and holds a festival in their honor every year. Sheep are more than just wool to the locals: in Solčavje, lamb dishes are more common in establishments than in other parts of the country. And at the Klemenschek farm, you can pet a cow of the autochthonous cika breed — a beautiful red cow with a distinctive white back.


Route along the Solchava Panorama Road
Solčava
The route starts in the small alpine village of Solchava. In the village itself there are only a couple of inns, a tourist information center with brochures and souvenirs, a supermarket and only one attraction — the Gothic church of St. Mary of the Snows (Cerkev Marije Snežne). It was built between 1461 and 1485 and is considered one of the best preserved Gothic churches in the region. The vestry and the south wall of the nave are believed to date back to the Roman era. According to the legend of the dragon, this is the place where the manger with the baby — the ancestor of Kryštof — was found. A shepherd starts from here in search of the missing sheep.
The church preserves a valuable relic — an early stone sculpture of a seated Mary with a baby — called Mary of Solčava from 1250, located in the upper part of the main altar.
The Rinka tourist center, as promised on their website, is supposed to sell local souvenirs, including local delicacies and products made of felt and wool from Solchava sheep, but at the time of my visit the shelves were empty. Stop by and see if you have better luck.
It’s important in Solchava:
- There are no supermarkets, ATMs or other infrastructures on the panoramic road. Bank cards are not accepted on the farms, so Solchava is the last place to withdraw cash and go to a full-fledged supermarket before entering the road. Don’t forget to take water.
- If you plan to follow the panoramic road on foot, Solchava is suitable for an overnight stay. You can pick up an option here and here.





Farm and landslide Macesnik (Macesnik)
The first impressive viewpoint after Solchava is a stop near the old farm Matsesnik. The farm does not look inhabited and is actually closed to the public. Only gray wooden buildings are visible from the road.
The main value of the farmstead lies in a set of hydraulic engineering devices that were once powered by a mill. The farm is a cultural monument of national importance, but you can only see it from the outside.
Somewhere here is the Macesnikov plaz, the largest active landslide in Slovenia. However, it is not marked in any way and only those who know something about landslides can see it. The rest of us are left with a beautiful panorama of the Kamnik-Savinja Alps and the Raduha Mountains with their highest peak Velika Raduha (2062 m).


Rogar Tourist Farm
Unlike the tourist-flooded Julian Alps, where the entire infrastructure is centered around active recreation (skiing, cycling and hiking), the Kamnik-Savina Alps have managed to preserve the chamber atmosphere of alpine farming — secluded and rustic. There are 50 active farms preserved in the hills of the Solčava region, 18 of which host tourists for lunch or even overnight stays. Even one night on a mountain farm is a reboot for a city dweller.
Farm Rogar (Rogar) is the highest mountain tourist farm in Slovenia with guest rooms. The house is located at the foot of the Olševa mountain (Olševa, 1250 m), overlooking the Kamnik-Savinja Alps. Just below the road there is a small pond — the water from it used to power a mill, but now it is a place for relaxing in sun loungers.
There is a viewpoint near the farm. Nearby is the Medvedova trail (signposted «Medvedova pot») to the archaeological excavations in the Potočka ziyavka cave, the oldest Stone Age site in Slovenia, where the earliest sewing needle in the world was found. The total length of the route is 7 km, starting at the museum at the Firšt Hotel (First) near Solčava, and it is a 1-hour drive from the farm to the cave. You can park your car at Rogar and walk around, and on your return you can taste local strückli or buy a jar of homemade jam made from local berries.

Church of the Holy Spirit (cerkvica Svetega Duha) and Strevc Farm (Strevc)
Not far from Rogar Farm, the view of the alpine slopes and the church is iconic — the kind that will make you want to get out of the car before reaching the info point. It is a small baroque church of the Holy Spirit, the only one along the panoramic road and its visual quintessence.
According to a local legend, several centuries ago the inhabitants saw white stones similar in shape to pigeons on the site of the church, but they paid no attention to it and the stones disappeared. Then the same stones were seen near the Raduha Mountain, but they were not paid attention to there, and they disappeared as well. When they were seen again in their original place, the people considered it an omen and began to build a church. Because the stones resembled doves, the church was dedicated to the Holy Spirit.
The first church on this place appeared in the XV century, and the present one was built in the XIX century. We did not get inside, the church was closed. According to official information, it has a well-preserved Gothic bowl and an unusual image of the Holy Trinity made of yew wood: the Holy Spirit is depicted as a young man carrying a globe instead of a dove. The church also contains an ancient bell with an inscription in the old Gothic script, the Maiuskule.
Near the church is another tourist farm, the Strevts farm. They promise accommodation in rooms and a working inn, but everything was closed during our visit.



Spring with iron water (Izvir kisle vode)
This point is easy to miss if you don’t spot the sign in time. It is literally a couple minutes from the church. There will be a small parking lot in the dense woods and a signpost on it — don’t miss them. It’s only a 3 minute downhill walk along a well-maintained path and you’ll see rusty rocks. This is a spring of mineral water so rich in iron that you can even see it in the stones.
The spring was formed along a tectonic fault separating the Savinsky Alps from the Karavanki. Locals believed that the «iron» water provided eternal youth, while scientists declared it a natural monument and confirmed that the water has healing properties due to its high iron and carbon dioxide content. The water is suitable for drinking, although its taste is rather unusual.


Klemenšek Farm (Klemenšek)
This farmstead is by no means the most photographed farm in Slovenia. It often appears in local and foreign tourist brochures. A special feature of the farm is the roofs, completely covered with gray larch shingles.
The farm is in very beautiful surroundings, just below the road, so if you don’t know about it, you can easily drive past it. However, there is a viewing platform near it with the best view of the whole road — the panorama of the Logar Valley. On the platform is a vending machine from the farm with their delicacies. You can buy right here, but it’s better to walk down the gravel road to the farm.
On the hillside right by the farm, don’t miss the small chapel — it’s made of local Solchava white marble.
On the farm, you can get up close to the cows of the autochthonous chica breed, which are distinguished by their bright red coloring and white stripe on their backs. The beautiful, neat cows blend in so seamlessly with the alpine scenery that it is impossible not to photograph them.
I’ve tried the local strukli (rolls with cottage cheese) and smoked meat jlikrofi — and these are especially recommended. Such žlikrofi are a specialty of the Solčava region, and «klemenči žlikrofi» has won local culinary awards.
The farm has many delicacies that you can buy home: sausages, pate, yogurt, etc. They are all made from the meat and milk of animals raised on the estate itself. Here they are proud of the gold award for the specialty bunka (something like a brisket roll — Klemenča bunka) and the bronze medal for the specialty Savinjski želodec (Klemenč Savinjski želodec) at AGRI 2015.








Mountain House Majerhold (Planinski dom Majerhold)
The Meyerhold farmstead is slightly off the Panorama Road, in the dense forests of the Matkov cat (i.e. on the «blue» route), but it is often included in the «green» road. It is a small deviation worth making to see the unusual mountain manor.
The unique little «village» has several guest houses, a communal restaurant, a soccer field, a goat pen and a large forest where you can walk and eat blueberries, currants and raspberries from the bush.
The Meyerhold House is only 2 km from the Austrian border — the Pavliczewo Saddle Pass, which can be reached on foot. Majestic mountain peaks can be seen from the estate, and in overcast weather clouds pass right at ground level.






Lamotje Gorge (Lamotje)
Where the panoramic road winds up to the finish point — Logar Valley — the path passes through a beautiful but short gorge. The stop is easy to skip, so take your time.
From the parking lot, a short climb up will lead to the Šikančeva Zijalka (Šikančeva Zijalka) cave — named after the Šikanč poacher who lived there with his family more than 100 years ago.
A cave with free admission, easy, suitable for children. The story tells of the emergence of the Matkov Cat Valley and of the dragon Lintwer the Elder, who lived in this cave thousands of years ago, before the lake was drained.


Logarska dolina (Logarska valley)
The Logar Valley is often depicted in tourist brochures throughout Europe as a symbol of an alpine glacial valley. This main attraction of the Solčava region is located in the heart of the Kamnik-Savinja Alps.
The valley is a dead end, with only one entrance. In 1987, the valley was declared a landscape park, a cashier’s hut was built at the entrance and an environmental fee of 7 € per car was collected. Pedestrians, cyclists and drivers of electric cars are exempt from the fee.
The valley is 7 km long and has an average width of 250 meters. Its lower part is known as Log — the home of the Logar family, the middle part is called Plest and is managed by the Plesnik family, and the upper part is known as Kot — «corner» where the Rinka waterfall — the source of the Savinji River and one of the most beautiful waterfalls in Slovenia — flows.

Useful information
- Solchava Panorama Road website
- The panoramic road is mostly asphalt, but gravel is occasionally encountered. The road is quite narrow, but it is not a problem for two cars.
- The Savin Alps is historically a wood craft area and still many farms offer wood products. Therefore, sometimes on weekdays there are timber trucks on the road, which can completely stop traffic in both directions while logs are being loaded or unloaded. We encountered two in one trip. Be prepared, be calm and enjoy the views on the sides — it only takes about 15 minutes to load an entire log truck.
- The Solchava Panorama Road is best viewed by car or bike. You can ride a bicycle or even walk it, but hikers will need two overnight stays — before and after the route. And for the Logar Valley, you’ll need to budget another day. By car, you can drive both the panoramic road and the entire valley all the way to the parking lot at the Rinka waterfall in a day. You can rent a car in Slovenia here and here.
- The best place for a luxurious overnight stay in the Logarska Valley is Hotel Plesnik 4* in the very center of the valley, overlooking the mountains, meadows and century-old Logarska lime tree, with prices for two from 200 euros/night. Cheaper options are tourist farms and guesthouses.