Join us on a unique experience of observing a brown bear in its natural habitat – quietly, respectfully and safely we will observe the mysterious world of one of the largest inhabitants of our forests.
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Visitor Center Lake Cerknica
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.
The population of the brown bear (Ursus arctos) in Slovenia is stable. In 2025 the estimated number of bears was around 950 individuals. They are usually solitary and non-territorial animals, which is why several may live in the same area. In Slovenia, most bears live precisely in the Notranjska and Kočevska regions, in pristine expansive forests.
With the Bear Watching experience, we want to bring the brown bear closer and present it as a charismatic large predator, an important natural heritage, and a part of unspoiled nature and an indispensable part of the ecosystem. This experience lets you get to know the bear from the safe shelter of the viewing hide, observe it, and also photograph it.
About the Experience
Visitors, accompanied by a hunter, head to one of the observation posts in the late afternoon. Some observation posts are equipped with cameras for observing wildlife, so that hunters can see where bears most commonly linger and how they behave. Based on this, they also choose the most suitable observation post. Then the visitors sit in complete silence on the lookout and wait for the bear to pass by them. Because the bear generally follows a similar daily routine and is used to the area around the observation post, there is a high likelihood that it will be spotted. If only they are not too loud…
The experience takes place between April and September. It is most recommended between May and August, when the days are longest and the probability of a successful observation is the highest.
It is important to emphasize that these are wild, free-ranging animals, so no one can guarantee that the observation will be successful. The rate of sightings varies from year to year and depends on various factors: the weather, the presence of other visitors in the forest, and above all on the bears' food supply – the more food bears have in the forest, the smaller is the probability that they will approach the observation post, and vice versa.
If the likelihood that bear watching will be successful is too low, we do not recommend the observation or it is not carried out.
Price list
1 person |
230.00 € |
2 people |
230.00 € |
3 people |
310.00 € |
4 people |
390.00 € |
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