CLIMATE & ECOLOGY

Slovenia is comprised of four distinct geographical areas, with the broad flatlands of the Pannonian plain in the east, three alpine ranges in the north and west, the hilly Dinaric area of the centre and south, and the mediterranean Adriatic coast. More than 50% of Slovenia is natural ancient forest, and the highest peak is Triglav (2,864 metres), which on a clear day is visible from hills above Zagreb in Croatia, more than 200 kilometres away.

Most of Slovenia has a distinctly continental climate, with hot summers and very cold winters, although the coastal area is mediterranean and therefore does not experience the winter cold. Generally, spring and autumn are short. Winter lasts from mid-November to around the end of March, and is mostly dry, although heavy snowfall is not uncommon. Spring is short, and can be rainy. Summer starts in the middle of May, and is hot. Due to the accumulated precipitation of winter, June is hot and very humid with frequent thunderstorms, whereas the rest of summer, until the end of September, is dry and sunny. Autumn is dry and still, with foggy mornings and sunny, warm afternoons.

Slovenia is thinly populated and has vast forests and other natural areas. Relative to other European countries, a major proportion (8%) of Slovenia is legally protected for wildlife. The jewel in the crown is the Triglav National Park, covering almost all of the Julian Alps, as well as 2 regional parks, 40 country parks, 50 protected nature reserves and more than 600 natural heritage sites. Three areas are of global significance. The Škocjan Caves are a UNESCO world heritage list site and Ljubljansko Barje (the Ljubljana fens or marshes) and the Sečovlje saltpans are included on the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance. The forests of Slovenia are abundantly populated with deer, boar, chamois, brown bears, wolves and lynx. Proteus anguinus, which is a blind salamander known as the 'human fish' that lives in underground pools in the Karst area is the only exclusively cave-dwelling vertebrate in the world. The marbled Soča trout (Salmo trutta marmoratus) is also only found in Slovenia.

Due to having such a high proportion of ancient forest and meadows, there are at least 3,200 plant species, and about 70 of them (many in the Alps) are unique to Slovenia or were first classified here. Triglav National Park is especially rich in endemic flowering plants, including the Triglav "rose", a pink cinquefoil.