Lahinja nature park

The Lahinja nature park lies in the middle of the Slovene province of Bela Krajina, some three kilometres east of the village of Dragatus.
The larger part of the park, 120 hectares, is under cultivation, whilst the remaining parts (80 hectares) have been preserved as natural forest, marshland and meadow habitats. Of particular note, and the area containing the best preserved of all this park's habitats, is the section lying around the source of the Lahinja stream; known as the Lahinjski Lugi (Lahinja marshy groves) this part is protected as a nature reserve. The Nerajski (Nerajec) Lugi, a slightly larger area of marshland habitat, is a real botanical treasure and appears as a lake when water levels are high. The park also contains a number of small springs as well as the karstic Zjot Cave. On taking a walk through the park one will chance upon a number of rare and endangered species, whilst a chance meeting the miller at the Klepec Mill (Klepcev mlin) can also be most enjoyable. The Venecijanka Sawmill, standing on a broad bend in the Lahinja stream near the village of Pusti Gradac, is one of the rare examples of an uninhabited prehistoric settlement in Europe and well worth a visit. The porticoed All Saints church with its broach-roofed bell tower is also to be found the promontory created by the stream.

Zupanciceva pot

If you want to experience the culture and landscape of Bela krajina, it must be done on foot. Walking from village to village along the waymarked path, will give you an unforgetable adventure.

In Dragatus, the poet Oton Zupancic spent his early childhood. He held pictures of  those places, the source Dobrec, litter forests, fields in fond remembrance and  praised them also in his poems. The path leads through Nature Park of Lahinja and several interesting villages. After about three hours of moderate walk the path ended in Vinica, birth place of the poet.

How can you spend your time during the visit

Guided tours of Lahinja country park

Horse riding in the vicinity, through the birch groves and friendly local villages

Riding in horse drawn carriages across the park and around the local district

The product of local craftsman (hand-made earthen basses - ancient folk instruments known as "gudalo"

Festive dishes, traditional to the Bela krajina region, including home baked bread, buckwheat potica, buckwheat bread, belokrajinan povitica, curd, newborn lamb, newborn goat or suckling pig.