Slovenia

Slovenia is one of the most forested countries in Europe, with close to sixty per cent of its territory under trees, and it brings together the Alps, the Dinaric karst, the Pannonian plain and a Mediterranean strip in very little space. The Triglav massif concentrates the high mountains, with chamois and marmots, while the Dinaric forests of the south hold one of the densest brown bear populations on the continent, alongside wolves and lynx. The Kras plateau gave karst its name worldwide: its limestone is riddled with thousands of caves, sinkholes and underground rivers, such as the Škocjan system, with one of the largest known subterranean galleries. Lake Cerknica fills and empties each year depending on the rains, and the Sečovlje salt pans and the mouth of the Isonzo provide coastal wetlands for migrating birds.