On the Menišija plateau, where vast beech and fir forests blend with picturesque meadows, reign the laws of nature and its wildest representatives – bears, wolves and lynxes. Here, for nature enthusiasts, time flies too fast.
The Menišija is a high forested karst plateau between the Cerknica and Planina plains, the Cerkniščica and Otavščica valleys, the raised karst Logaški ravnik, the Ljubljana Marshes and Mount Krim. This approximately 15 km long, 6 km wide and 700 m high plateau runs in the Dinaric direction NW-SE. The major part of the Menišija is covered by forests where one may easily get lost...
The plateau consists of Jurassic limestone and Triassic dolomite. Limestone is mostly found in the north-western forested part. Dolomite prevails in the south-eastern part where some of the land used to be deforested and cultivated. In the 13th century, some of the land was owned by the Carthusian monastery of Bistra, which was connected to Cerknica through the Menišija by the so-called samostanska pot (monastic route).
According to folk tradition, the ancestors of the Menišija lived on Mount Slivnica. Later they moved below Slivnica to Njivice (the old name of the area near Otonice). Here, according to legend, traces of settlement still remain in the landscape. After a renewed relocation in the ninth century, the present-day villages arose: Selšček, Topol, Begunje, Bezuljak, Kožljek, Dobec and Otave.
Karst plateau, where forests intertwine with colorful meadows, is a paradise for cyclists due to its winding roads with little traffic, and also for forest lovers. On these roads it is not hard to get lost, and to encounter its wildest inhabitants—the bear, the wolf, and even the lynx.
| Area: | 90 km2 |
| Highest peak: | 998 m |
Gallery
Fauna
Fauna on the Menišija is remarkably diverse, which is the result of carbonaceous bedrock and great variety of plants. It was the very abundance of animal species that contributed to the inclusion of the plateau in the Natura 2000 Network.
Fauna on the Menišija is remarkably diverse, which is the result of carbonaceous bedrock and great variety of plants. It was the very abundance of animal species that contributed to the inclusion of the plateau in the Natura 2000 Network.
Flora
The sunny-side slopes of the Menišija plateau are covered with meadows, which are among the most beautiful and colourful ones in the Notranjska Regional Park. Local people continue to maintain both, meadows on poor and dry soil and those on moist soil, with love and in an environmentally-friendly manner.
The sunny-side slopes of the Menišija plateau are covered with meadows, which are among the most beautiful and colourful ones in the Notranjska Regional Park. Local people continue to maintain both, meadows on poor and dry soil and those on moist soil, with love and in an environmentally-friendly manner.
Nearby attractions
Križna Cave
Križna Cave is one of the most beautiful tourist water caves in Slovenia.
Križna Cave is one of the most beautiful tourist water caves in Slovenia. 22 emerald lakes are connected by an underground crystal-clear stream, within side passages ancient bones of cave bears can be seen, and by the number of specialised cave dwellers, the Križna Cave ranks among the richest caves in the world.
Slivnica
The beautiful vista of Lake Cerknica and valleys of the Notranjska region made witches and their mistress Uršula choose Mount Slivnica as their home.
The beautiful vista of Lake Cerknica and valleys of the Notranjska region made witches and their mistress Uršula choose Mount Slivnica as their home.
Javorniki
The immense back of the Javorniki hills has been watching over intermittent Lake Cerknica and shaping the character of the Notranjska region landscape and its people since the old days.
The immense back of the Javorniki hills has been watching over intermittent Lake Cerknica and shaping the character of the Notranjska region landscape and its people since the old days.
