Top 4 Natural Monuments around Žirovnica

The German narrator and lyric poet Reinhold BRAUN (1879 to 1959) recommended a deep, blissful summit rest to the mountain hiker in the following poem: "Some climb mountains in a hurry and take too short a summit rest and see neither beauty nor sunshine, they just want to have 'been there', and return with everyday senses and outlook to the valleys of life. Do you truly want to be blessed, your soul to wander bright and pure: Enjoy what you have hiked for, in a deep, blissful summit rest!"

The ascent is gradual and steady, making the climb very enjoyable. The way back is very scenic but includes a more demanding descent. Valvasorjev dom is excellent – great food, welcoming atmosphere, and very friendly staff. In winter and snowy conditions microspikes/chains are a must.

One of the more scenic spots on the ridge. Accessible by a short climb over the rocks from the eastern side.

Impressive mixed forest with many old conifers and beautiful meadows.

Very nice view to Lake Wörthersee, but also to Slovenia!

Begunjščica is a mountain range in the Karavanke Mountains east of Stol. Begunjščica rises above the Draga valley north of Begunje. The steep southern slopes are up to about 1500 m wooded, in the upper part ruined and grassy. The eastern rocky edge of the mountain rises above the narrow Šentanska valley, which separates Begunjščica from Košuta. The western wooded slope below Roblekov dom descends steeply into the narrow valley of Završnica. The northern slopes from Smokuška planina to Ljubelj are rocky and precipice, and in between there are extensive screes and gutters. From the peak ridge of the mountain rise three peaks: the eastern is Begunjska Vrtača (1991 m), the middle Veliki vrh (2060 m) is the highest peak of the mountain, and the western is Srednji vrh (1979 m). The mountain is composed of Triassic limestones. Begunjščica is known for its rich flora; here also grow the long-flowered primrose, the horned violet, the beautiful shoe, the fragrant wolfberry, the pink viper, the wig-headed, the yellow heather, and the other plants. Chamois and ibex can also be seen on the rocks and on the grass shelves. Due to easy access, Begunjščica is visited throughout the year. In addition, in winter and spring, with favorable snow conditions, its screes are a ready terrain for touring skiing. From the top there is a very nice view. In the north, below the precipice walls, there is the Zelenica valley and above it the ridges of Ljubeljščica, Na Možeh, Palca and Vrtače, and on the horizon we can see Visoke Ture with good visibility. To the east is a wide view of the Košuta, Kamnik and Savinja Alps and Peca. In the south, at the foot of the valley, is the Draga valley, to the east of it rises Dobrča, and to the west the Stol mountain range; the Gorenjska plain expands further, followed by the Škofja Loka hills, Ratitovec, Jelovica, Pokljuka and Julijci. The stamp is in a box on Veliki vrh. PD Radovljica.

Stol, imenovan tudi Veliki Stol, je najvišji vrh Karavank. V bližini glavnega vrha je na njegovi južni strani Mali Stol (2198 m). Med obema vrhovoma je sedlo Med Stoli. Stol se proti vzhodu veže prek grebenov Belščice ali Orlice (Celovška špica, 2105 m) in Svačice (1953 m) s skalnato gmoto Vrtače. Proti zahodu se Stolovo sleme nadaljuje prek Potoškega Stala (2014 m) in Belščice (Vajnež, 2104 m) do sedla Seča ali Medvedjak (1698 m), ki ga loči od Struške, njo že prištevamo k skupini Golice. Na severu padajo mogočne razdrapane stene v zatrep Medvedjega dola na Koroškem. Južna pobočja Stola so razbrazdana z dolgimi žlebovi in nad širokim pasom planin na višini okoli 1200 m zelo strma, pod planinami proti dolini Završnice pa položnejša. Stol je tudi osrednja gora Stolove gorske skupine med Ljubeljem in Medvedjakom. Sestavljen je iz triasnih apnencev in dolomitov. Na njegovih travnatih vesinah, meliščih in skalnih policah raste značilna alpska flora: planika, murka, Zoisova vijolica, lepi jeglič, navadni alpski zvonček, retijski in julijskoalpski mak, brezstebelna lepnica in še mnoge druge. Razgled s Stola je izredno širok. Na vzhodu so v bližini Belščica, Vrtača, Begunjščica in Košuta. Proti jugovzhodu vidimo Dobrčo, Kamniške Alpe, Posavsko hribovje s Kumom in Gorjance. Obširna je tudi južna stran: pod nami je gorenjska ravnina s Kranjem, Radovljico, Bledom in drugimi kraji, naprej Ljubljanska kotlina z Ljubljano, potem pa notranjsko hribovje do Snežnika, Polhograjsko in Škofjeloško hribovje, Trnovski gozd, Porezen, Ratitovec in Jelovica. Prelep je pogled proti jugozahodu na Julijce s Triglavom ter na Pokljuko in Mežaklo v ospredju ter na Dolomite na obzorju. Na zahodu lepo vidimo greben Karavank s Potoškim Stolom, Belščico in Kepo, ob južnem vznožju grebena pa del Zgornje Savske doline z Jesenicami in Mojstrano. Lep razgled je tudi proti severu na Rož, dolino Drave ter Čelovško kotlino s Čelavcem in Vrbskim jezerom, proti severovzhodu do Obirja, Pece in Svinške planine, proti severozahodu pa do Nizkih in Visokih Tur. Stol ima velik pomen tudi za slovensko planinsko organizacijo; na njem se je rodila ideja o ustanovitvi Slovenskega planinskega društva. Mladi hribolazci Josip Hauptman, Ivan Korenčan in Anton Škof so se 23. julija 1892 povzpeli na Stol. Ob lepem vremenu so se pogovarjali, zakaj so po vseh slovenskih gorah samo nemške koče, nemški napisi in kažipoti. »Vzdramimo se!« so rekli mladeniči, si podali roke in se pobratili ter sklenili, da ne bodo odnehali, dokler se ne ustanovi slovensko planinsko društvo. Prevzeli so pobudo in želja se jim je kmalu uresničila: 27. februarja 1893 je bila v Ljubljani ustanovljeno Slovensko planinsko društvo.