On the summer day of our visit, heavy dark clouds hung above the valley and a cold wind blew down from the mountains, yet the view was no less impressive. The central dining room of the renovated hotel glowed with the warmth of wooden panelling, candlelight, a fireplace and deep red velvet.

Lunch starts with sparkling wine. The menu is the work of Janez Bratovž, a master of Slovenian cuisine, and the promising young chef Tom Čopar, who honed his skills at Bratovž’s renowned JB restaurant.

Working under Bratovž’s mentorship, Čopar focuses on local, seasonal ingredients and on reviving traditional Solčava dishes, with a contemporary touch. He is committed to minimising food waste and following a sustainable approach – value that helped Hotel Plesnik earn a Michelin Green Star, of which they are particularly proud.

The hotel guests, 80 per cent of whom come from abroad, also strongly appreciate this green philosophy. They intentionally seek destinations where they can remain closely connected to nature. To this end, the hotel offers a variety of experiences: guided cycling and hiking tours with stops on the Solčava Panoramic Road, hikes along shepherds’ trails accompanied by Plesnik’s hiking hamper, and plant foraging and herbal workshops.

Tradition lies at the core of Hotel Plesnik’s identity – and indeed of the Logar Valley itself. The name Plesnik appears throughout this area, and with good reason. The family has lived in the valley since 1426, originally working in agriculture and forestry. The first hotel and restaurant were opened in 1932 by Franc Plesnik, grandfather of the current owner, Martina Plesnik.

Franc dreamed of developing a modern Alpine retreat, but his ambitious plans were halted by the Second World War, during which the original hotel burned down. Under Martina’s leadership, the hotel reopened in 1995 and has since become a symbol of one of Slovenia’s most picturesque glacial valleys.

The new generation has not forgotten their roots, and today, Plesnik’s menu is a thoughtful combination of locally sourced ingredients prepared in a slightly more modern, refined way, historical dishes and traditional recipes, drawing primarily on those passed down by grandmother Marija Plesnik.

Some classics remain practically untouched, such as the beef consommé and steak tartare, which have been popular among hotel guests since 1935. Made with local beef from a neighbouring farm, lightly seasoned and finished with a drop of cognac, the tartare is served with toasted house focaccia.

Grušavi žlinkrofi – dumplings filled with dried pears – are a traditional Solčava sweet. At Hotel Plesnik, Bratovž and Čopar reinterpret them as a savoury dish with homemade cracklings and a sauce of browned cream. Savoury štruklji dumpling rolls are filled with cottage cheese from the Spodnji Strmčnik Homestead and lovage from the hotel’s herb garden, served with buttermilk and a cucumber salad.

Another local speciality is solčavski sirnek, made from slightly salted mature cottage cheese with caraway, mixed with fresh double cream just before serving. In Hotel Plesnik’s version, the cottage cheese is made from goat’s milk produced at the Matk Farm above the valley of Matkov kot.

Cooperation with nearby farms is essential for the Plesnik team, and they are fortunate that the Solčava region offers a particularly strong selection of high-quality producers.

Early in the morning, after a small glass of homemade sage schnapps (“In the mountains, this is the tradition – even before coffee,” they encourage us), we head north along the Solčava Panoramic Road, close to the Austrian border, where we are rewarded with breathtaking views. This area is also home to numerous high-mountain farm stays, cheesemakers, dairy producers and makers of exceptional cured meats.

Our first stop is at the Matk Farm, situated at 1,165 metres above the valley of Matkov kot, with views stretching from the peaks of Olševa and Raduha across to Ojstrica and Mrzla gora.

Warm morning light wraps the entire estate in shades of gold, and the only sound is the soft bleating of goats. The farm has fifty goats, and its yoghurts, cheeses and ice creams are well-known throughout the valley. They form and essential part of the offer at the region’s most prestigious accommodations, including Hotel Plesnik, Hiša Raduha and Hiša Ojstrica.

The close cooperation among local producers is truly impressive and could serve as an example to the rest of the country.

Janja Matk, who runs the farm with her husband Klemen, appears from behind a quaint wooden cottage decorated with colourful geraniums, carrying mugs of warm, freshly milked goat’s milk – a gentle and sweet beginning to a perfect day in the mountains.

A wooden table overlooking the valley below soon fills with homemade delicacies. Cottage cheese, porridge, jams, honey, fresh goat’s cheese, aged goat’s cheese, herb-infused cheese and more. The tempting selection also includes liver pâté and excellent cured meats, including the typical Zgornjesavinjski želodec.

For over 100 years, this geographically protected dried meat product made from high-quality pork and bacon has been produced at farms in the Savinja Valley using a traditional method. It was once served at Hotel Plesnik to King Alexander I, and on another occasion to King George V of the United Kingdom, who liked it so much that producers from the Logar Valley occasionally sent it directly to the English court.

“Would you like a small one?” the host asks as he shows us the cheese cellar. It is not yet ten in the morning, but in a place where the day begins well before sunrise, it seems perfectly acceptable.

The Solčava Panoramic Road leads us onwards to the Perk Farmstay, where locals, young and old, sit on the terrace with a jug of homemade apple cider and a plate of fragrant cured meats.

We continue past viewpoints and vending machines selling local products, past idyllic hilltop churches and boutique cottages hidden away for guests seeking the most remote corners of Europe.

Higher up, herds of goats on high-mountain slopes give way to free-grazing cattle in the settlement of Strmec under Raduha, where, Janez and Valentina Rosc represent the fifth generation at the Spodnji Strmčnik family farm. They have embraced a more ambitious approach to dairy processing.

Cottage cheese, yoghurt, buttermilk, young cheese and cheeses at different stages of ageing are all produced here. “I hide the best cheeses and sell them exclusively to Hiša Raduha. But now and then even foreign guests come looking for them,” says Janez with a smile.

Hotel Plesnik’s kitchen has established an extensive network of local suppliers who support the hotel’s green philosophy. While most follow traditional methods, some are innovators pushing new boundaries.

Among them is the Liogarden family company, specialising in freeze-drying organic, home-grown fruit and vegetables. With this procedure, the nutrients, flavour and texture are preserved without added sugar or preservatives.

Its founders, ethnologist Ana Kaker and forester Tadej Lever, whose shared love of nature brought them together, grow fruit and vegetables in their idyllic, slightly remote garden in Rečica ob Savinji near Mozirje and then freeze-dry them for use in snacks, smoothies, dishes or as gifts. “These freeze-dried strawberries are our bestseller – and the raspberries, persimmons, blueberries and peaches have turned out wonderfully too,” Ana explains as she quickly opens large jars, saying that the sky is the limit.

Their range includes freeze-dried fruit, vegetables, vegetable powders for babies and even freeze-dried ice cream – served at Hotel Plesnik as a sweet final treat.

We complete the circular route back in the valley, now bathed in the soft late-afternoon light of a perfect summer day. Just a short walk from Hotel Plesnik stands Eco House Na razpotju, a boutique family-run hotel with a long tradition, run by third-generation hoteliers.

As its name suggests, the house follows a strong green ethos – a shared value among providers in the Logar Valley. They endeavour to keep waste and energy use to a minimum and ensure that food travels as few kilometres as possible from field to plate, while supporting local producers and nearby farms.

“We make our own cured meats and share a drying chamber with the Plesnik family. All dairy products, vegetables and meat come from the valley. We dry all the herbs for teas ourselves. Only the pumpkin seed oil and buckwheat flour come from farther away, and the wines on the wine list are exclusively Slovenian,” they explain, as they serve us their wonderful homemade cottage cheese štruklji.

In its twenty-five years, Eco House Na razpotju has evolved its offer. A turning point came in 2019, when they introduced their own gin, named Gin Burje after the local word for dwarf pine.

The juniper berries that serve as the basis are plentiful in the Logar Valley. The gin is further complemented by eight Alpine herbs, some grown in their garden, others gathered on the Plesnik mountain pasture at 1,300 metres. The result is a truly Slovenian mountain gin, with notes of thyme, marjoram, peppermint, yarrow, linden, lemon balm, marigold and dwarf pine.