Daffodils on the slopes of Mt. Golica

One of the most known facts about my hometown Jesenice is, that in May the northern slopes above the town get covered in a white blanket of daffodils (Narcissus poeticus). Last year I tried to do something different, something I have not seen before so I made a series of photographs with Milky Way above the daffodils. It was very well received as it was something people haven’t seen before. This year I decided I would do something more ordinary with the main goal being to photograph daffodils on the slopes of Mt. Mala Golica with the highest mountain of Julian Alps, Triglav in the background. And to also make a beautiful time-lapse of the sunrise in the process. It again turned out to be very special (great conditions) and it was very well received on my Facebook Fan Page.

So one morning I drove up the mountain road to the foothills of Mt. Mala Golica. It’s only a 15 minutes hike from there to get to the meadow which is fully covered with daffodils. A lot of people mistakenly thinks the daffodils are at Mt. Golica. But that is not the case as Golica has two peaks and daffodils can be found on the slopes of the lower peak (Mala Golica).  As you can see from the images below the slopes turn almost completely white and it’s truly an amazing (almost otherworldly) sight to see.

If you look closely you can spot the end of the road in the middle of the image. The fog really added to the atmosphere as the valley below doesn’t add anything to the image. Mt. Golica is also the border between Slovenia and Austria so hidden under the fog are Austrian towns and villages.

If you look into the opposite direction this is the view you get. Not too shabby either. 🙂 The mountain above the daffodils is Mt. Triglav (the highest mountain in Slovenia and our national symbol). After the most important two shots were done and ready, it was time to get a bit closer to the daffodils. But before that I would like to present a time-lapse of the sunrise. It looks spectacular.

Timelapse of the sunrise on the slopes of Mt. Golica

And now it’s really time to get closer to the action.

My dog, Bella, enjoying the view and kindly posing for me.

Macro shots are a necessity.

Grasshopper in action, I was lucky to spot this little fella enjoying the morning sun.

And a beautiful butterfly.

Some more macro shots to get a close view of those amazing flowers. They just look so gracefully in the green grassy background.

I think the most beautiful place to hike and observe the daffodils is if you take a hike from the slopes of Mala Golica towards Mt. Krvavka and Golica. After that, you descend towards the cottage under Golica and return to the starting point. You will get amazing views into all directions all the way through the hike (on Julian Alps, Karavanke mountain range and valleys below). But if you are not up for the hike you can still enjoy the beautiful scenery the daffodils “create”.

But if you are not up for the hike you can still enjoy the beautiful scenery the daffodils “create”. Plavski Rovt is easily accessible by car (only a 3 kilometers of wide asphalt road from Jesenice) and the views are almost just as great. All images below were taken within a 5-minute walk from the parking spot.

Clouds were really cooperating on that day making the scenery much more interesting.

A look back towards Plavski Rovt, Planina Pod Golico and Mt. Stol in the upper right (highest mountain of the Karavanke mountain range).

And for the end a stunning view towards where I was at the start of the article (slopes of Mt. Golica in the evening sun). So as you can see daffodils are basically everywhere on the slopes above my home town and they are an integral part of our heritage as Jesenice are also called a town of steel and flowers.