Weekend Bear Watching Getaway
Welcome to Kočevsko, the land also known as "the bear kingdom"! Get to know the forest and its inhabitants up close and you will understand how important it is to maintain responsible coexistence between nature and man. The program is suitable for anyone who would like to learn more about nature, become one with our forests and have an interesting weekend adventure. The programme is also very educational for older children. The brown bear and the vast forests of Kočevsko will surely impress you with their mightiness.
Program duration: 3 days
Season: April - October
Difficulty: moderately demanding
Suitable for: families with older children, couples, individuals, small groups (up to 8 people)
You can observe: the brown bear, wolf, lynx, deer, roe deer, various forest birds, owls, waterfowl
Package description:
- on the first day, you will arrive at the Hostel Bearlog in Kočevje and spend the night there,
- after breakfast, the guide will present the program to you,
- you will go to the forest and look for traces of wild animals and observe them from afar,
- you will have a picnic and the opportunity to photograph nature,
- after lunch, you will return to Kočevje for an interesting workshop,
- you will hike to the top of Veliki Rog and visit Žaga Rog,
- you will hike along the Rajhenavski Rog primeval forest,
- you will learn about the difference between a forest and a primeval forest,
- you will visit an extraordinary fir tree, the Queen of Rog,
- after lunch, you will visit the "Bear's Room" and learn more about bears and nature,
- accompanied by a hunter, you will observe the animals from the save shelter of the observatory,
- after dinner and filled with impressions you will end the day and end the adventure after breakfast the next day.
Program schedule:
Day 1: Arrival and accommodation
The adventure begins in the town of Kočevje, located in the heart of Kočevsko. On the day of arrival to Kočevje, you will be comfortably accommodated and spend the night in Hostel Bearlog.
Day 2: Exploring the forest and uncovering animal traces
After breakfast, an experienced and specialized guide will first introduce you to the entire program and explain everything you need to know before entering the forest. The path will lead you deep into the heart of the Kočevsko forests until you find the first traces of wild animals. This is an ideal place to stop and start exploring our secret forests. Here you can encounter various traces of different animals, with each of them having a different interpretation and a different story. With the help of the guide, you will follow the animals and explore the various signs of the presence of wildlife in their natural environment, and learn a lot of new interesting and useful information.
While exploring, you will also stop at a clearing where you can rest and refresh yourself while having a small forest picnic with local delicacies. There will also be no shortage of picturesque spots for all avid photographers.
After a late lunch at a nearby inn, the adventure will continue in Kočevje, where you will attend a workshop. Here, you will be able to choose between creating molds of bears', wolves' or lynx' paws, into which you will pour the plaster, and then take home the final product. After the workshop, you will have time to recharge or to explore the town.
Day 3: Primeval forest and bear watching
On the third day you will hike to the highest point of the whole tour, to the top of Veliki Rog (1099 m), where a lookout tower is set up. The tower is just high enough to rise above the treetops where you can see the extensive and mighty Secret Forest of Slovenia. The next stop is Žaga Rog, once the largest and most modern sawmill in Slovenia, where only remains and ruins are left as a reminder today.
After a short drive you will reach the main attraction, the Rajhenavski Rog primeval forest. As early as 1892, this forest became the first natural area in Slovenia to receive official protection when 51 hectares of primeval forest were divided and named after the settlement of Rajhenav. The area, which mostly consists of beech and silver fir, serves as a habitat for wildlife, especially birds. You will go on a few hours long hike along the boundary line of the Rajhenavski Rog primeval forest.
With a local guide, you will be able to look for signs of the presence of wildlife in its natural environment and hear a lot of interesting information and facts about wild animals that live in the forests of Kočevsko. With a little luck, you might even observe some of them.
Before lunch, which will be waiting for you at a nearby tourist farm, you will head to "Her Majesty", the highest landmark, called the Queen of Rog. This is an amazing European fir (Abies alba), which at a height of 1.30 meters measures 5 meters in circumference and over 50 meters in height. The Queen of Rog germinated around 1500.
After lunch, you will return to the "Bear's Room", where the guide will provide you with additional knowledge about bears and everything related to them. The visit is intended to get to know the environment of the brown bear, the importance of population regulation and tools for measuring the population. You will also learn about the proper behavior at observatories during observation time in order to make the wildlife observation experience enjoyable for you and as unobtrusive as possible for the animals.
Once you receive all the knowledge and information, you will be greeted by a local hunter with whom you will go bear watching. The observation is carried out in safe observatories a few meters above the ground, but to make the process even safer, you will be constantly accompanied by a guide and a hunter. At the observatory you have to sit in complete silence, indulge in the sounds of nature and observe the animals. Bears mostly walk on established paths, so the probability of seeing a bear is high. Nevertheless, you need to be aware that nature is unpredictable and therefore even more enchanting.
Late in the evening, the hunter will escort you safely to the means of transport, which will then take you to the accommodation, followed by a light dinner at the Hostel Bearlog.
Day 4: End of the adventure
After a delicious breakfast prepared from local delicacies, the program ends.
We have developed this program in accordance with the standards of sustainable tourism and with the least possible impact on the environment, especially on wild animals.
Price:
830 EUR/person (2 people)
660 EUR/person (3 people)
570 EUR/person (4-8 people)
Contact and inquiries:
The program can be tailored to your requirements. For all explanations and inquiries, write to us at info@kocevsko.com, we will be happy to help you.
We look forward to your visit to Kočevsko, the Secret Forest of Slovenia.