No. Choose a starting point and route length that suit your abilities.
Discover Pohorje’s mountain huts: stop on a hike or stay the night and make more of your trip.
In Pohorje, a mountain hut can be a destination, a hiking stop or a place to wake up among forests. Discover Ruška koča’s tradition at Areh, combine your visit with Mariborska koča and enjoy local flavours. You do not need a multiday trek to experience the mountains: choose a route that suits your abilities, then decide whether to stay a little longer.
When the hut is the destination
A day in the mountains does not always have to involve reaching a summit. Sometimes all you need is a walk through the forest and a hut where you can put down your backpack, order a bite to eat and enjoy good company.
You can include Pohorje’s huts in a short hike or link them on a longer route. Mariborska koča and Ruška koča, for example, are stops on the Slovenian Mountain Trail, which starts in Maribor and continues across Pohorje. Even on a day trip, you can walk part of a trail that connects Slovenia’s mountain regions.
A century-old tradition at Areh
Ruška koča stands in a clearing beside the Church of St Areh. Its mountaineering history dates back to 1907, when the first hut opened, making it the oldest mountain hut in Pohorje.
Today’s hut continues the tradition of a place that welcomed hikers more than a century ago. Combine your visit with a walk around Areh or a hike up from Ruše, adjusting the distance to your fitness level.
A more recent event shows that the hut remains a place for people to come together: in June 2026, Ruška koča was the main venue for Slovenian Mountaineers’ Day, with hikes and activities for different generations.
From one hut to the next
For a longer walk, link Mariborska koča and Ruška koča. The official description of the Slovenian Mountain Trail gives the distance of this section as 4.8 kilometres. Instead of a circular walk, you get a hike with two huts where you can take a break.
Plan your return before setting off. Decide whether to retrace your steps, continue elsewhere or arrange transport. Allow time for breaks as well as walking: a hut visit is more enjoyable when you are not rushing to your next commitment.
Get a taste of Pohorje
During your stop, ask about the daily menu and local dishes. Pohorje’s cuisine features hearty soups and stews, mushrooms, pearl barley and other ingredients from the surrounding forests, fields and farms. Local specialities include pohorski pisker, a hearty stew, pohorska bunka, a cured meat speciality, and desserts with forest berries.
Menus vary from hut to hut, so check in advance if you have a particular dish in mind. After your walk, allow enough time for a meal and a rest. They are part of the trip, too.
What if you stayed in the mountains tonight?
Spending the night in a mountain hut changes the pace of your visit. There is no need to head straight home in the evening, and in the morning you can continue your hike from the mountains. The hut becomes the starting point for the next day, rather than just the end of this one.
Book your overnight stay directly with your chosen hut. Check the type of accommodation, meals and any sleeping gear you need to bring. Then choose a route that leaves time for the things you came for: the forest, good company and a break.
Frequently asked questions
Ruška koča at Areh, whose story dates back to 1907.
Check availability at huts offering overnight accommodation and book in advance.
The weather, trail conditions, hut opening times and options for your return.
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