Search
Brazil
Argentina
Bolivia
Chile
Colombia
Ecuador
Guyana
French Guiana
Falkland Islands (Malvinas)
Paraguay
Peru
Suriname
Uruguay
Venezuela
Germany
Austria
Belgium
Croatia
Denmark
SlovakiaSlovenia
Spain
Finland
France
Greece
the Netherlands
Hungary
Ireland
Iceland
Italy
Luxembourg
Norway
Poland
Portugal
the United Kingdom
the Czech Republic
Sweden
Switzerland
Turkey
Canada
the United States
Mexico
the Dominican RepublicTurkey
South Africa
Australia
Fiji
New Zealand
Papua New Guinea
Sports · Kranjska Gora
Every March, the Planica valley, near Kranjska Gora, hosts the final stage of the Ski Jumping World Cup, held on the Gorišek Brothers’ flying hill, one of the largest in the world.
In the photo: Kranjska Gora
Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.
Click a photo to enlarge it.
Ski Jumping Finals in Planica — Kranjska Gora
In March, from Thursday to Sunday, at the event that closes the Ski Jumping World Cup season.
March
Dates change every year: check this year's date before you travel.
The festival
Planica is a narrow valley in the far northwest of Slovenia, close to the borders with Italy and Austria, at the foot of the Ponce mountains in the Julian Alps. Since the 1930s, the valley’s name has been linked to ski jumping: some of the longest jumps in history were made there, and it’s where ski flying — the discipline contested on the largest hills — was born.
The first major hill, Bloudkova velikanka, designed by engineer Stanko Bloudek, opened in 1934. In 1969 the Gorišek Brothers’ flying hill, Letalnica bratov Gorišek, came into operation, becoming the main stage for competitions and the site of several world records. Since the late 1990s, Planica has hosted the FIS Ski Jumping World Cup final every year, closing the season.
The final takes place over four days, with training and qualification, individual competitions and team events. Spectators fill the slopes and grandstands around the landing area with flags, horns and clothing in national colors, and each jumper’s landing is met with shouts and applause. Slovenian jumpers, known as the eagles, are often among the favorites and receive a festive welcome.
Today the valley has a Nordic center with several hills of different sizes, cross-country trails and a museum about the history of ski jumping. Outside competition times, the hills can be viewed up close, and some feature a zip line and viewpoints.
It’s worth the trip to experience Slovenia’s most anticipated winter competition in an alpine valley enclosed by mountains, and to combine it with a stay in Kranjska Gora, which is just a few kilometers away.
The individual competitions on the Gorišek Brothers’ flying hill in the final days. The atmosphere on the slopes around the landing area, with fans from many countries. The team event, which usually takes place on Saturday. A visit to Planica’s Nordic center, with the museum and the smaller hills. The route from Kranjska Gora to Planica through the Upper Sava valley.
Choose one of the individual competition days or the team event; training and qualification draw fewer spectators. Arrive early: access to the valley is via a narrow road, and there are often remote parking areas with transport to the grandstands. It’s late winter in the Alps: bring waterproof, warm clothing, a hat, gloves and footwear suitable for snow. Kranjska Gora, a few kilometers away, is the most practical base.
Buy tickets in advance on the official website, where the schedule and access rules are also published. Book accommodation in Kranjska Gora or nearby well ahead of time, as demand is high during the final week. Check that year’s traffic and parking conditions.
In the city
March
February/MarchOn the days before Lent, in February or March depending on the date of Easter, ending on Shrove Tuesday. The duration varies according to the program.
Slovenia’s largest carnival takes over Ptuj’s old town: the kurenti, figures dressed in sheepskins with horned or feathered masks and large bells at the waist, parade alongside other traditional regional characters to drive away winter.
February/MarchOn the Sunday and Tuesday of Carnival, which fall between early February and early March according to the Easter calendar; the laufarji begin to appear in the streets on the preceding Sundays.
In Cerkno, in the hills of western Slovenia, the laufarji—figures wearing carved wooden masks—parade through town at Carnival and stage the trial and execution of the Pust, the moss-covered figure who carries the year’s misfortunes.
Your questions
In March, from Thursday to Sunday, at the event that closes the Ski Jumping World Cup season.
In a valley in the far northwest of Slovenia, a few kilometers from Kranjska Gora, near the borders with Italy and Austria.
It is the discipline of ski jumping contested on the largest hills, with much longer jumps than usual. Planica is considered the birthplace of the discipline.
Festivals and events in Slovenia
AprilOn a weekend in April, usually after Easter and before the May 1 public holiday.
For a weekend in April, the old town of Radovljica, near Bled, turns into a large chocolate showcase, with producers from across the country, tastings, workshops and demonstrations at Linhartov trg square and the town manor.
May/JuneFor about two weeks, from late May to early June, during the flowering season of Bohinj’s meadows.
In late spring, Bohinj, in the heart of Triglav National Park, devotes two weeks to the flowers of the Julian Alps, with guided botanical walks, exhibitions, workshops, and restaurant menus featuring wild plants from the valley.
JuneOn the third weekend of June, from Friday to Sunday.
On the third weekend of June, Idrija, the former mining town in western Slovenia, celebrates bobbin lace with exhibitions, fashion shows, workshops and the national contest for young lacemakers in the main square.
June/JulyFor a few days in June or July; dates vary each year.
Founded in 1960, the Ljubljana Jazz Festival is the oldest continuously running jazz festival in Europe: for a few days at the start of summer it brings together Slovenian and international musicians at Cankarjev dom and at the Križanke outdoor theatre.
June/July/August/SeptemberDuring the summer, from June or July until the beginning of September.
Created in 1953, the Ljubljana Festival fills the capital’s summer with opera, ballet, symphony concerts, theater and folk music, in the Križanke courtyard, the former monastery remodeled by Jože Plečnik, and at Kongresni trg square.
June/JulyFor about nine days, beginning in late June and ending in early July.
At the start of summer, the Lent neighborhood, the old bank of the Drava in Maribor, and the central squares host Slovenia’s largest outdoor festival, with concerts on downtown stages, folklore, street theatre, and children’s programming.