The Karst Plateau offers a very suggestive landscape made of hills and valleys, where white stone villages break the monotony of the green vegetation. The Gemina trail connects the villages of Malchina and Ternova, cutting through San Pelagio and Prepotto.

The trail is a great way to experience and find out more about the Karst Plateau, where artisan activities thrive in the shade of its houses and trees.

After a short walk, you will reach Carsiana Bothanic Gardens, in Sgonico, in the province of Trieste, which features a great variety of characteristic Karst flora, in its natural environment, carefully recreated in a doline.

The Gemina trail is only one of many trails that cross the plateau. For example, the renowned Rilke Trail is a natural terrace nearly 2 km long that overlooks the white cliffs of Duino, which drop sharply into the sea. A walk with deep historical, cultural and literary roots.

The Rilke Trail is one of the Karst Plateau’s most fascinating and easy-to-reach itineraries. This is where poet Rainer Maria Rilke enjoyed walking when he was a guest of the Princes della Torre e Tasso. The charm of this corner of the world is forever sealed in the “Duino Elegies”, which describe the beauty of the white cliffs that drop sharply in the sea.

Another particularly fascinating place is the area of the Timavo Resurgence. Here you will discover the history of this hidden river whose source, in Slovenia, created the Škocjan Caves. The river runs under ground for kilometres and kilometres until it resurfaces among a group of willows in San Giovanni di Duino.

A phenomenon typical of this plateau, which has fascinated many poets and travellers of the past.

In Val Rosandra, you can explore the Natural Reserve, stay in the lowest mountain hut in Italy and visit the salmon fishery in Bagnoli della Rosandra.

If you like, you may include a meal at one of Karst’s agritourism restaurants, or at the tourism fishery at the Villaggio del Pescatore (Fisherman’s Village) nearby.