Planica

Planica is not merely a valley — it is a Slovenian institution of faith. Here, in 1934, ski flying was born on Bloudek’s giant hill: engineer Stanko Bloudek built the first jump in the world designed for leaps beyond one hundred metres, and in 1936 Austria’s Sepp Bradl became the first human to fly past the magic hundred right here. The world initially banned the discipline as too dangerous — Planica legalised it with facts.

Since then, the valley below the Ponce peaks has seen numerous world records and written the stories of Ulaga, Zajc and Prevc. The March World Cup finals are Slovenia’s greatest sporting festival: three days when the valley hosts tens of thousands who roar as one with every flight. Slovenes joke there are two national holidays — Culture Day and Planica.

In summer the giant hill becomes an adrenaline park: ride the chairlift to the top, descend the zipline down the landing slope — among the steepest rides in the Alps — or visit the museum where the history of flight comes alive on a simulator. Planica is 40 minutes from Bled, with the emerald Zelenci springs lying just before it.