Travel: Llubljana and rural Slovenia WHEN Slovenians voted overwhelmingly for political independence in 1990, some of the country's people must have wondered how traditional values and customs would hold up under the mighty forces of the free market. However, it is the very spirit of fidelity to culture and tradition - and pleasant climate - that makes their country such an attractive, if relatively undiscovered, travel destination. Word is spreading about the pleasures of this special country, within easy reach of the UK. Of course, to really learn about a place you must go there and to get close to the hidden pulse that defines its daily rhythms you need to travel slowly across the landscape. On Foot Holidays offers self-guided walking tours across Europe so my colleague, photographer Margaret Soraya, and I arranged a journey that would allow us to live the experience step by step. We wanted to find out what is so attractive about this small country wedged between Italy, Austria, Croatia and Hungary. We knew it had lots of trees - around 50 per cent of the land is forested. And the debate about whether the presence of so-called dangerous animals such as wolves and bears should be tolerated is conspicuous by its absence. These animals have always been there and don't cause problems because their habitat is largely intact so they operate on a mutually laissez-faire basis with humans. As soon as we arrived in the capital of Ljubljana, an atmosphere of gracious warmth settled over us like a blanket. Remnants of Roman construction stand side by side with splendid art deco and art nouveau facades. The architecture tells the story of survival of centuries of successive occupation whereby the positive influences of each conqueror have been seamlessly integrated; their tyrannical diktats ultimately shrugged off. Riverside restaurants bask in a lamp-lit glow devoid of neon invasion and we got our first taste of a nutritious, robust style of rich-flavoured cuisine. Duck has never tasted better than it did combined with a honey and fig sauce. But it was soon time to tie bootlaces and retrieve poles from suitcases. We were there to walk across the Karst region in the south-west of the country. A short train journey took us to Postojna where we were met by host Boris Dolenic and driven to the family farm. A welcome drink of home-made wine kick-started a routine that was to be replicated at a number of stops over the following week. The term tourist farm may have a somewhat Orwellian overtone but the reality is a visitor experience characterised by cosy accommodation, lots of fresh produce, authentic home cooking and a warm welcome. Slovenia has around 700 such farms and they are nothing new. From the early 19th century onwards, savvy Italians have crossed the border to enjoy the bounty of field, orchard and vineyard. Early next morning we awoke to the sound of cowbells, as the herd was brought in for milking. Breakfast included a ham omelette, the ham - known as prsut - is a Slovenian speciality with which we were to become very familiar. Legs of pork are air dried courtesy of the north-easterly wind, the Bora, which blows across the Karst. We set off from Predjama castle - built into the rock in the 13th century and setting for many colourful tales. We carried instructions for each day with simple maps attached. It was a bit like being on a treasure hunt. We had to look out for a fork in the path, a linden tree or the meadow at the end of a vineyard. The days fell into a pattern of walking, eating and settling into a succession of farms. None of the routes was arduous, so we had plenty of time to enjoy our surroundings. Always to the east was the reassuring bulk of the Mount Nanos plateau dominating the landscape as the Coigach Ridge does the Scottish Highlands. Footpaths plunged into tangled forests and emerged in hilltop villages, each with a church and a profusion of stone buildings in varying degrees of repair. Beehives and hoes were testimony to a rich tradition of food production but, most days, we saw many more butterflies than people. Every so often one would pause its ragged flight, close finely patterned wings and blend in with the autumn foliage. We gathered the freshest of fruit salads on our way: wind-blown apples, swollen figs and small, tart grapes fuelled our progress. After one particularly taxing ascent in tree-splintered sunshine we came to the hilltop village of Stanjel, which crowns a rocky ridge. Here, centuries of construction, including a castle, blend seamlessly and people continue to add to remaining ruins to make them habitable. This approach would most probably horrify UK planning officials but succeeds in keeping the place alive. Our charming hostess, Marija Svagelj, advised that we should take time off in the following days to visit Europe's largest underground caves at Skocjan. It was strange to become part of a tour group but we were happy to get the opportunity to explore the vast interior, whose stalactites and stalagmites are like melted pillars of rock. We also saw a riding display featuring Lipizzaner horses. Our final stop before we hiked across the border into Italy for a flight home was Skerlj Farm in the village of Tomaj. The food here has attracted rave reviews from the New York Times and it did not disappoint. We enjoyed a soup of home-grown vegetables, beef in a rich sauce with polenta and salsa and the most delicate of vanilla-infused panna cotta with bramble compote. Our comfortable room in a converted stable block had a clean, minimalist feel, softened by a proliferation of exposed timber. It was easy to rest in such pleasant surroundings after long days of meanderings and the most delicious food. I wondered how the Slovenians had come together so decisively on that fateful referendum day 20 years before. Perhaps a shared vision of destiny is made possible by an ongoing connection with the land. For me, a long walk in Slovenia was a life-affirming sojourn from the challenges of my daily life. On Foot Holidays (01722 322 652, www.onfootholidays.co.uk). Available for departure anytime between April and October, its self-guided "Slovenia: The Karst" walk costs from £650pp including seven nights" B&B, six picnics, five dinners, luggage transfers between stops and route information. Flights are extra. easyJet flies from Stansted to Ljubljana from £40 plus fees. Ryanair flies from Stansted to Trieste from £20 plus fees.