If you go to Slovenia with children, you absolutely cannot miss a visit to the village of Jelovo, a tiny village perched in the hills: it is called Dežela palčkov and it is the home of garden dwarfs!
Jelovo and the garden dwarfs: what to see
Marinka Zorec and Jože Vitasovič, two residents of this tiny village, have collected over more than 20 years, more than 500 different dwarfs that they have placed in their garden. The dwarfs were mostly collected in Slovenia, Italy, Romania and Poland.
In addition to the dwarfs one can find many other characters such as Laurel and Oglio, Snow White, Little Red Riding Hood and other fairy tale pets.
This exceptional collection is available for everyone to admire right from the roadside.
Some information
There is no charge to visit the dwarfs, however, you can leave a donation.
When we went, it was 32 degrees. There is no shelter from the sun so bring a hat and lots of water.
The visit will take you about 40 minutes at most. You can park your car freely nearby.
Where to eat
We found a restaurant about twenty minutes from Jelovo that we absolutely feel we can recommend.
Trgovina – Gostinstvo – Prevozništvo “Čop,” Lojze Čop s.p.: It is a restaurant with authentic cuisine that remains far off the tourist track, so much so that the chef himself came out and asked us how we had found it!
We took a seat on the small terrace overlooking the valley and tasted the local specialties they offered us: soup, main course consisting of a kind of meat and mushroom stew, meatballs, various fried foods with a side salad, and dessert for an expense of 20 euros per person.
There are also nice little games where children can be entertained.
