Grado - Grotta Gigante - Trieste

Route: Ljubljana - Grado - Grotta Gigante - Trieste - Ljubljana
Duration: 10 h
Our first stop we will make at the Grado which is an island on the lagoon between Venice and Trieste. It’s on the Adriatic Sea in northeastern Italy’s Friuli-Venezia-Giulia region. The island, connected to the mainland by bridges, is a great vacation destination for visiting this interesting but less-explored part of Italy. Grado has a small but charming historic center with picturesque medieval buildings and old churches. The two top churches are right next to each other: The Basilica of Sant’ Eufemia and Santa Maria delle Grazie. Both are early Christian churches with impressive mosaics and frescoes. Behind the Basilica there’s a lapidarium displaying fragments of ancient statues and tombs. Remains of floor mosaics from a 4th-6th century church were uncovered in Piazza Biagio Marin, a big square just outside the historic center. In summer, Grado is also a top beach destination with great beaches, both paid and free. Next we will visit to the Grotta Gigante which has a titul of Guinness Book of World Records holder for the largest tourist cave on Earth. Grotta Gigante, translated, simply means giant cave, and that it indeed is! It is a single cavern that is estimated to be around 10 million years old and stretches an astounding 280 meters long, 65 meters wide and 107 meters high. The cave is part of a huge underground system that enters the karst in Škocjanske Jame, Slovenia. Though Grotta Gigante is a show cave visits are only possible with Grotta Gigante’s specialized guides and visitors enter through the natural opening discovered in 1890, which has since been modified for tourist access since 1908. You will have to navigate down 500 steps to the cave floor at about 80 meters deep. The steps are divided into comfortable ramps, but remember, down is always easier. You’ll still have to navigate back up another 500 steps at the end of the tour. Down of the cave you can observe the stalactites, stalagmites, and calcite flows. The largest stalagmite column is 12 meters high and named Ruggiero after an early explorer. At a rate that stalagmites form 1 millimeter ever 15 years, it is thought that Ruggiero is somewhere around 200,000 years old. The different minerals present make the cave an array of reds, whites, and grays. At the center of the enormous room, you can spot the tools being used to study crustal movement by the University of Trieste and the National Institute of Oceanography and Experimental Geophysics. The next stop of our tour will be in city Triest. Join this walking tour led by a local guide to discover the beautiful city of Trieste. This place is - strangely - still quite "ignored" by most of the touristic flows, but it represents a real gem of Italy, although geographically isolated from the rest of Italy. During this tour you will breath the authentic atmosphere of the city, while you walk along its ancient streets, alleys and historical buildings. The tour will "touch" some of the most important spots of the ancient Trieste, like the main square (Piazza Cavana), the Cathedral of San Giusto, the Castle of San Giusto, the Roman Theater, the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore, the Church of San Silvestro, the "Borgo Teresiano" and the Grand Canal. During your walk, especially when you're near Piazza Cavana, don't forget to take a look at the beautiful historical buildings all around you, from the fruit markets to the craft fairs. From a few panoramic spots, you'll also have the chance to enjoy a beautiful view of the city, the harbor and the sea. After free time we return to Ljubljana.
Price: per person