Natives of Dolenjska are a merry and hospitable people. Singers are drawn to the town with the oldest Dolenjska monastery, lovers of water pleasures to the thermal springs, and amateur ethnologists to the walls of a mighty castle...Among the joyful holidays are also days of peace and a different kind of pleasure - a joy in the fullness of life along the riverbanks, behind monastery walls, in the shelter of old cities and amidst the mysteries of the karst subterranean. The region of Dolenjska enriches life wherever you turn, and you, too, can share in this experience, at the monasteries at Stična and Pleterje, and at every step along the road from Žužemberk to Kostanjevica...

Day 1:
Take the Ivančna Gorica exit from the Ljubljana-Novo mesto highway. After a few bends in the road you will come to a parking area in front of the Stična Monastery (1).
The monastery dates from the 12th century and is a religious sanctuary for the monks of the Cistercian order, which emphasizes manual labor. Stična occupies an important place in the cultural history of Slovenia as a result of the transcription of medieval documents (the Stična manuscripts). A tour of the monastery, its mysterious green bird immortalized in the coat of arms, includes the Gothic cloister, the basilica Church of the Holy Mother of Sorrows, the Slovenian Museum of Religion, which is housed in the old monastery prelature, and the gift shop, in which you can buy, among many other products, a variety of herbal concoctions. The fame of the Stična monastery herbarium is widespread due especially to the efforts of Father Simon Ašič.
After a wholesome snack on home-grown products, head next to Cvinger nad Virom close by Stična, where you can see the ruins of one of the most important Hallstatt buildings in Slovenia with a once very strong wall around it. More than a hundred mounds, in which numerous valuable finds from the early Iron Age have been uncovered, have been preserved here. Nearby, in the village of Vir pri Stični, there is also a powerfully flowing karst spring providing a habitat for Proteus anguinus, the so-called "human fish."
Next go into one of the most beautiful river valleys in Slovenia. The road towards Žužemberk will take you to Muljava, the birthplace of the writer Josip Jurčič, with an outdoor museum and amphitheater, and the early 15th century Church of the Assumption of Mary, also worth a visit. Continue on to the Krka valley, where the river in some sections flows through gorges in lively calc tufa cascades. The occasionally operational Mill in Prapreče (2) stands as a monument to the important role that mills used to play in this region, while the ruins of a mighty castle, with its renovated wall dating from the Renaissance period, located in the heart of Žužemberk, testify to the former grandeur of this settlement.
After a fortifying lunch in Žužemberk or its vicinity, go past Dvor to the nearby ruins of Soteska Castle (3). Next to the castle there used to be an expanse of park, but only the garden pavilion, called Hudičev turn, has been preserved.
Continue towards Črnomelj, but at Vrčice take the road for Mirna gora. This will take you to the mountain hostel on Mirna gora, from which it is a short ascent to the top (el. 1047 m). There is a magnificent view of Bela krajina and neighboring regions from the scenic overlook.
Conclude the first day's pleasures with dinner and overnight accommodation in Dolenjske Toplice.

Day 2:
Spend the morning fortifying yourself for the journey to come. The thermal waters of the oldest spa in the former province of Carniola have been applied to the rejuvenation of body and soul for centuries. There was an indoor pool erected by the Turjak nobility as early as the 17th century.
After a snack go past Novo mesto towards Brežice. Turn off at Šentjernej and follow the signs for Pleterje Carthusian Monastery (4). In front of the mionastery, which was established in 1407, there is an outdoor ethnological museum (5) which shows the traditional life of rural inhabitants-their culture, customs, habits, and architecture from the 19th century. You can learn more about the monastery in its oldest part, the Gothic Church of the Holy Trinity-about its founder Herman II, Count of Celje, and about the monastic life led even today by members the Carthusian order.
From the monastery, behind whose walls the monks live under a vow of silence, travel on to another monastery which no longer houses monks, but works of art: in Kostanjevica na Krki you fill find the Božidar Jakac Gallery (6) in the former Cistercian monastery, and the outdoor sculpture park of Forma Viva on its grounds. While in Kostanjeva see also the old center of the smallest and oldest town in Slovenia, picturesquely located on an island in the Krka River.
Round off your journey through Dolenjska with a look below ground, in the tunnels of Kostanjeviška jama (7), or a wander along the paths of the virgin forest of Krakovo.
After dinner bid farewell to Kostanjevica na Krki and return towards Novo mesto and beyond.