Idea for a weekend trip: Strunjan
It's going to be a weekend of sunshine, so I've prepared a new idea for a weekend trip. Head to Strunjan at Circular learning patht - Strunjan in images of the sea.
Leave your car at the beach car park and drive past Hotel Liberty embark on a circular learning path. The first educational boards, where you can teach your children about the unique nature that surrounds us, can be found just to the left of the hotel car park. The trail then leads you slightly uphill, where you will be constantly accompanied by the view of Piran. After about 20 minutes of walking, you will arrive at Strunjan Crosswhere, in clear weather, you can enjoy views from Triglav to Venice.
Strunjan Cross
Strunjan Cross is located at the highest cliff in the Adriatic, which is 80 metres high. Since 1600, a cross has stood on the headland of the cliff, signaling the proximity of the Shrine of the Virgin Mary and warning sailors of the proximity of the land. According to an oral tradition, a miracle was supposed to have taken place on the very spot where the cross stands on 15 August, many years ago. A terrible storm was supposed to have raged and ships at sea were likely to sink if the Virgin Mary had not appeared over the Bay of the Moon. Immediately, the sea was supposed to calm down, the storm subsided and the sailors were saved. Stories still circulate today of footprints and tears etched into the rock where Mary is said to have wept to save the sailors.
Moon Bay
Walking a little further from the cross, we have two options. You can follow the trail and continue on the right side back towards Strunjan, or you can turn left and descend all the way down to the Moon Bay. I, as usual, choose the descent into the bay and then continue towards Strunjan by the sea. Unfortunately, at high tide the path is not passable, so sometimes it is necessary to climb back up the cliff and descend back to Strunjan by the first path.
Moon Bay also called by some Bay of St. Croix and falls under the central part Strunjan Nature Park. The bottom of the bay is covered with seagrass, an indicator of the cleanliness of the sea, and among the seagrass you will find seahorses, juvenile fish, tube worms, cuttlefish and octopus.
Strunjan Salt Pans and Stjuža
Whichever way you came back to Strunjan, here you go again learning path and see also Stjužo, the remains of salt pans and Visitor Centre.
Steward is a shallow area created by the deposition of sediment by the Strunjan River. This Slovenia's only lagoon is of great importance for waterbirds, which find food, nesting or hiding places on banks and dykes. The most common birds are the grey and white Heron. The lagoon is free of water currents or large waves due to the construction of the embankment. The water flow is depends solely on the tides, as it is only connected to the sea via a flow channel. The bottom of the lagoon is covered with grassland, where various species of molluscs, fish, crustaceans and other animals have found their habitat.
Laguna is an integral part of Strunjan Landscape Park, which includes the Strunjan Salt Pans, the northernmost and smallest salt pans in the Mediterranean.
Strunjan salt pans are the northernmost and smallest salt pans in the Mediterranean, where salt has been traditionally extracted for more than 700 years. They were created by the transformation of the shallows of the Gulf of Strunjan through the construction of dykes, canals and shallow pools. According to the information I found on wikipedia, salt is thought to have been produced here since Roman times. Today, the salt pans are inhabited by interesting plant and animal species, that have been able to adapt to the extreme conditions of the salt marshes.
Visitor Centre
In the saltpans area you can also see Visitor Centre. You can see an exhibition about the Strunjan Regional Park called Park of the Sea, as well as a film about the Park.
The exhibition outlines in three languages all the major features of the park and explains their intrinsic link to the sea. Arranged over four walls, it describes the four different faces of the park, presented under the headings Where Land and Sea Meet, A Pinch of Salt, A Lagoon Full of Life and Strunjan Cliff, a Living Sculpture of the Sea.
The centre of the Strunjan Landscape Park is open to visitors open all days of the week. Weekdays from 9 am to 3 pm. At Saturdays and Sundays from 9am to 5pm. Closed on public holidays. In case of bad weather, deviations are possible.
Entrance to the centre is free.
You can also stay on the Coast for several days, in which case just check if our apartment is still available 😉 .
