Kocevje Primeval Forests

The forests south of Kočevje were held as a hunting reserve for centuries and then, after the war, left largely alone in a militarised border zone, which is why fragments of old growth survived here when they had gone almost everywhere else in Europe. Krokar, a small reserve of seventy-five hectares on a steep slope above the Kolpa, was added in 2017 to the UNESCO listing of ancient and primeval beech forests, along with Snežnik-Ždrocle to the west. Brown bears live throughout.

What you actually see

• The Krokar reserve - seventy-five hectares of old-growth beech inscribed by UNESCO in 2017.
• The structure - standing dead wood, fallen trunks and gaps of a forest left to itself.
• The Rog plateau - the wider Kocevski Rog forest with its own protected cores.
• The bear country - one of the densest brown bear populations in Europe.

When to go

May to October; the beech is at its best in late spring and in October colour. Forest roads can be closed by snow in winter. Bear activity is highest at dawn and dusk.

Honest expectations

The strictly protected cores including Krokar itself are closed to entry and are seen from the edge; the walking is in the surrounding managed forest. There are bears here and the local guidance on behaviour should be followed. Signage is thin and a map is needed.

Nearby

Kocevje is north, and the Kolpa is south.