BEAUTY, WINE & FOREST BATHING IN SLOVENIA!

A unique and unsung European destination

- AMELIA EDELMAN

ON MY MOST RECENT TRIP, I texted my friends photos. In one shot, glasses of golden wine sparkled against a backdrop of rolling vineyard hills. “Tuscany?!” was one guess as to my whereabouts. In another photo, the Alps loomed outside our elegant wooden ski lodge. “Austria?” was the next guess. “Nope,” I responded. “Slovenia!”

I'd gotten a taste of the country 20 years earlier on a backpacking trip and jumped at the chance to return. Located in the heart of Europe and roughly the size of New Jersey, Slovenia is a country of many identities, and wellness travel is quickly becoming one of its top draws. Its mineral-rich thermal baths have been revered since Roman times, and its spa hotels combine tradition and innovation.