The Walk of Peace is located partly in Slovenia and partly in neighbouring Italy. When hiking the Walk of Peace, you’ll be only too aware of following in the footsteps of thousands of young men of different nationalities whose young lives were snuffed out. Enjoy the unspoiled natural beauties of the Soča Valley. You’ll be struck by the joyously peaceful nature of an area that, just over 100 years ago, erupted to the sounds of explosions and gunfire. Perhaps you’ll hear the echoes of the cries of wounded soldiers or the song of the shepherd attending his flock in the pasture. The Walk of Peace is a walk of memory and of freedom.

From its starting point at Log pod Mangartom all the way to Trieste, the trail is marked by signs and information panels of the same design. Along the way you’ll visit six open-air museums and numerous monuments. All the open-air museums are situated in authentic historical locations with well-preserved or renovated remains. They are all accessible and well-signposted. Former Italian and Austro-Hungarian areas have also been laid out along the trail.

The Walk of Peace through the Soča Valley

The Walk of Peace stretches from the Alps to the Adriatic. The trail begins in Log pod Mangartom. It passes the fortress of Kluže, where some remains of the Isonzo Front and the First World War are on display. The path takes you to the Ravelnik and Čelo open-air museums, then climbs to the Golobar plateau and the Zaprikaj open-air museum. It continues on through the village of Drežnica and takes you past the Italian ossuary in Kobarid. At this point the path splits into two.

One route takes you on to the Kolovrat ridge, where you’ll find another open-air museum, while the other leads across the uplands of Kuhinja and Pretovč and the Mrzli Vrh open-air museum. The first route continues across Javorca to Tolmin. There you can visit the German ossuary and the Mengore open-air museum. The path continues on from Kolovrat museum through Kambreško to Sabotin, Brda and Nova Gorica.

The second route leads from Kolovrat to the village of Plave, from where the path climbs to Prižnica, Vodice and Sveta Gora, eventually reaching Škabrijel. The two routes merge again in Nova Gorica, from where the path continues over the peak of Markov Hrib to Cerje. There you’ll find the monument to the defenders of Slovenian territory. The monument stands on the hill of Cerje on the western edge of the Karst plateau, which offers wonderful views of the northern Adriatic, Friuli, the Dolomites and Vipava Valley, with the mighty Julian Alps looming in the background.

Walk of Peace in the Karst

Various sections of the Walk of Peace wind through the Karst near Cerje. You’ll wander through the peaceful, unspoiled Karst landscape, where reminders of the First World War are easy to find. All paths are well-marked and are suitable for hikers and cyclists. Along the way you’ll encounter a horse rider or two setting out for the Karst plateau.

Just before you reach the border with Italy, the Walk of Peace in the Karst splits into two. One route takes you over the border to Debela Griža (Monte San Michele) and along the historical trail at Brestovec (Percorso storico del Brestovec) to the Italian ossuary in Sredipolje (Redipuglia), ending in the small town of Devin (Duino). The other Karst route connects the landmark of Borojevićev Prestol, Krompirjeva Jama, the village of Gorjansko and the Austro-Hungarian cemeteries on Grmada (Ermada). The path ends in Devin (Duino). The last section leads from Devin to Trieste.

The Walk of Peace from the Alps to the Adriatic is a long-distance themed trail that uncovers the history of this landscape. It is dotted with numerous museums, monuments and memorials. The entire walk takes place through the wonderful landscape of the Karst, where the Alps meet the Adriatic.

Circular trail on the Walk of Peace

Part of the Walk of Peace is arranged as a 100-km-long circular trail divided into six sections. Each section should take you a day to complete, which means you’ll need six days to complete all of it.

The circular trail connects Gorizia (Gorica) in Italy and Nova Gorica in Slovenia. To the north it connects Kobarid and Čedad (Cividale), while to the south, Grmada (Ermada) is the central peak connecting the Slovenian and Italian Karst. The history of the First World War is revealed on all three routes.

How the Walk of Peace project came about

The First World War came to the Soča Valley and the Karst in 1915 and stayed for two years. It left ruined villages and abandoned landscapes in its wake, and claimed the lives of many young soldiers. The remains of the soldiers were laid in approximately 60 military cemeteries along the former front. Numerous intervening events in the 20^th century meant that the names of the fallen were never properly researched, processed and presented to the public. One of the aims of the WALKofPEACE project is therefore to provide the public with information on the First World War military cemeteries.