Dry grasslands at Vetrnik and viewing point
The Vetrnik area is dotted with beautiful, colourful dry grasslands, which are remarkable for their wealth of flora and fauna. Just below the peak of Vetrnik (709m) is one of the most beautiful dry meadows, where the meadow orchids bloom as early as April. The colourful flowers of unusual shapes, colours and names can still be seen in May and June. The sounds of the wind harp accompany us as we observe the rich flora and fauna of the Travnik Educational Trail (450m long). Along the way, we will discover the extraordinary flora and fauna of the dry grassland. Vetrnik has become a popular hiking, climbing and sightseeing destination, offering outstanding views over a large part of Slovenia.
You can walk to Vetrnik from Kozje (1.5 hours) or take the local road from Kozje or from Gorjane to just below the summit, where you can leave your car and continue on foot (15 minutes).
Map
Explore other natural attractions in Kozjansko Regional Park:
Gruska, which lies just off the main Kozje–Buče road, is a distinctly noticeable pocket valley, starting with a 30-metre-high overhanging wall. In the wall, there is the source of the Gruska stream, which turns into a beautiful waterfall during heavy rains.
At Gradišče above Podsreda (3.3km from Podsreda) is the Kozjansko Park’s tall-stemmed orchard, where more than 120 varieties of apple and more than 60 varieties of pear are planted.
The Vetrnik area is dotted with beautiful, colourful dry grasslands, which are remarkable for their wealth of flora and fauna.
Between Podsreda and Bistrica ob Sotli, the Bistrica River has created a beautiful gorge, which is considered to be the most picturesque and well-preserved river gorge in eastern Slovenia.
The Lurška Cave is a large sinkhole in sandstone of Miocene age (about 20 million years old), up to 38m wide and 17m high, now heavily overgrown with moss and ivy.
The spring is located in the lithothamnion limestone, in the solitary karst of the Kozjansko Park. Karst springs are characterised by high fluctuations in flow and occasional turbidity at high water.
These are caves, dug into quartz sand that was brought to the Bizeljsko area millions of years ago by the Pannonian Sea. The sand holes belong to the indigenous natural, historical, ethnological, and cultural heritage of the area and are an attraction along the Bizeljsko–Sremič wine tourist road.
In the steep wooded hillside above the left bank of the Bistrica River in Pilštanj, a picturesque rock called Ajdovska žena was formed in dolomite. It is 12m high (7m on the sloping side) and 2m wide.
One of the most beautifully coloured birds living in Slovenia, the European bee-eater (Merops apiaster), nests in an abandoned quartz sand mine in Župjek near Bizeljsko. It nests in colonies and Župjek has the oldest continuous colony of European bee-eaters, with around 30 nesting pairs.