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Abram (Nanos) from Vrhpolje

Biking in Slovenia » Vipava Valley » Abram (Nanos) from Vrhpolje

Two roads lead from Sanabor (a hamlet on the western slopes of Nanos plateau) to Abram (one of the few still-active homesteads): a pleasantly cool gravel road along the Bela stream and a sunny asphalt road going straight from Sanabor to Abram.

At a Glance

Difficulty
A mix of somewhat steep asphalt and gravel roads
Altitude
1015 m
Average time
3.5 h
Elevation gain
830 m
Distance
22.9 km
Coordinates
Start: 45.872902,13.972551

Starting point Hiking map

Interactive route Download GPX file

In summer, I take the gravel road on the way up and the asphalt road on the way down. This time I decided to enjoy whatever sun had to offer on a chill autumn morning:

  • I parked at Vipavska Bela climbing crag to avoid the boring part of the trip. You could park at the large parking lot in Vipava (adding almost 5 km and ~190 m elevation gain).
  • Follow the road from Vipava to Col (via Vrhpolje) until you get to a left hairpin with a side road to Sanabor/Abram going right.
  • Just before Sanabor, decide how hot you want to be: turn right (Sanabor/Abram – my choice) to follow the sunny asphalt road or left (Bela) to follow the stream into the forests.
  • Follow the asphalt road till you reach Abram.

The Nanos Glaciers

To set things straight: Nanos is way too low to have glaciers. What they call glaciers are ice caves where the locals mined ice in the spring/summer and transported it to Trieste from where it was exported all the way to Africa.

Fair warning: While the gravel roads are well-maintained, you’ll be entering pretty wild hard-to-orient terrain with plenty of forks, no mobile coverage, and useless signs. Download digital maps (OpenCycleMap works just fine) to your smartphone.

  • From Abram, follow the signs for Pot ob Ledenikih (Glacier Way) onto a decent gravel road.
  • At the next T-junction, turn left (there’s an ancient barely-readable right-pointing wooden arrow saying “Podnanos”).
  • At the next major junction, a sign saying “Blažon” pointed straight on; I turned right (down).
  • (Optional) Stop at the Veliki Vipavski Ledenik (Big Vipava Glacier) sign and explore the cave.
  • Eventually, you’ll reach a large parking lot occasionally used by logging trucks. Follow the signs for Vipava, and in a few kilometers, you’ll get back to the Sanabor–Abram road.

Map of the Route

The map shows the path we took as recorded by the GPS receiver. Never trust a GPS track; rely on your senses and maps.

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