Activities / Cycling
The main route: Bukovo – Jesenica – Zakriž – Trebenče – Cerkno – Kladje – Bevkov vrh – Idrija
This one is a diverse route passing hills, gorges, basins and passes that take you across the region of Cerkno from the Tolmin to the Idrija regions. From the municipality of Tolmin you reach the region of Cerkno along the road Grahovo-Bukovo. When you reach the paved road after a moderate ascent, turn right towards the village Bukovo. At the nearby junction turn left and drive through the villages and hamlets Bukovo, Kojca, above Orehek and through Jesenica, past Zakriž and Gorje, through Trebenče and finally arrive to Cerkno. You are accompanied by the cool freshness of the forests and the wonderful views of the surrounding hills the entire time.
To continue towards Idrija, in Cerkno take the road for Škofja Loka. After a difficult and winding climb, the hardest and most challenging part of the cycling Marathon Franja, you will reach the pass Kladje, where you take the turning right towards Lajše. Drive straight on then take the paved road left that will take you through the forest to Kacin farm where the locals had the main skiing venue before Cerkno ski resort was built at the Črni vrh. Continue on a pleasant path along pastures and meadows where a view of Cerkno, the Škofje, the Mt. Porezen, the Kojca hills and the Lower Bohinj Mountains will make you stop and breathe in.
Follow the upper path past the junction for the Lajše memorial, stay on the paved road left that takes you to a junction in the middle of meadows and pastures, where you must turn right towards the Bevkov vrh. Soon you will reach another junction at the small local transformer station, where you must take the sharp turning left towards the Bevkov vrh. Drive down the paved road to the next junction in the meadows, just after the forest, where you go straight to the farmhouse with cheese production. Continue past the farm and climb up the gravel road, drive just below the Bevkov vrh and enjoy the fantastic views before entering the forest once more. Soon you reach a paved road again and drive down the slope, past the farmhouse Na Hmenici, to the crossroads where you have to turn left towards Jazne and the Kanavc pass. From there, drive down the hill to the border with the municipality Gorenja Vas – Poljane. At the junction take the road right in the direction Mrzli vrh and Ledine, from where you continue along the road to Idrija.
Points of interest along the routes
- Hamlets Kojca and Krtečne near the village Bukovo with locally distinctive homesteads of the Cerkno building type.
- An ancient Roman road led over the pass at Bukovo.
- Zakriž (for details see Route 4).
- Gradišče hill above Cerkno – an area of a former military post with finds of antique weapons and coins.
- The Cerkno museum with permanent exhibitions of the region of Cerkno throughout the centuries and the renowned Carnival tradition “laufarija”.
- The baroque church of St. Anne (Slov. cerkev sv. Ane) with a rich interior furnishing of local craftsmen.
- The birthplace of the composer Peter Jereb dating from the 18th century in the old part of Cerkno.
- A partisan tomb at the graveyard in Cerkno, the monument to the 47 assassinated students of the communist party classes and numerous other memorial plaques throughout Cerkno that bear witness to the partisan liberated territory during WWII times.
- The Zaganjalka spring between the village Straža and Lajše hill (outside the described routes) is an interesting natural phenomenon – the stream source with the water level rising and falling in regular intervals.