KARST AND BRKINI REGION - The name of our special world, located between the Gulf of Trieste, the Vipava Valley and Brkini, is the Karst. It is where water and soluble rocks make contact. This has seen the emergence of a magic world filled with underground caves, disappearing rivers, dolines and other karst phenomena. In fact, our Karst plateau gives its name to all similar landscapes around the world with comparable soil composition and the whole set of karst natural phenomena. The Brkini region is characterised by flysch soil and a climate that oscillates between continental and Mediterranean. It is the land of fruit and fruit brandies. This remote hilly world is a special luxury you will want to enjoy again and again. TOP ATTRACTIONS: - The Lipica Stud farm: the largest stud farm in the world with more then 300 Lipizzan horses - Škocjan Caves Park: UNESCO’s World Cultural and Natural Heritage since 1986 and the planet’s largest underground canyon - Medieval village Štanjel: a showpiece of Karst architecture and culture - The Rodik Mythical Park Brkini: a unique active experience in nature enriched by the local mythical tradition - The Karst Living Museum: invaluable treasure trove of karst phenomena More about Karst and Brkini: https://www.visitkras.info/en/ VIPAVA VALLEY The picturesque and rugged Vipava Valley, surrounded by high Karst plateaus and opened to the Goriška plain in the west, is as if created for activities in nature, even the more extreme ones. Runners, hikers and cyclists like to come to us all year round, paragliders and hang gliders find excellent conditions for flying here, climbers enjoy the steep slopes above the Valley even in the winter months, and our rivers offer a lot of pleasure in the summer. Besides that, we also add our unique peculiarity to all these diverse possibilities in the Vipava Valley. First of all, an excellent wine and culinary offer. As a wine country with a thousand-year tradition, we are proud of our indigenous wine varieties and the top quality of our wines. We are equally proud of our culinary tradition, which today inspires top culinary masters. Our area has always been an important intersection of traffic routes and cultures. Remains of the Romans, castles and mansions, churches and monasteries as well as old villages, bear witness to our varied and rich history. The town of Nova Gorica and the neighbouring Italian Gorizia, which will jointly be the European Capital of Culture in 2025, represent a unique coexistence without borders. Perhaps the most valuable difference is our hospitality, which is also why our area is often the scene of major sports competitions.