Nanos by bike: a false flat, then 470 metres in five kilometres

Nanos is the karst plateau that closes the upper Vipava valley, its highest point more than a kilometre above the valley floor. The paved road onto its slopes is one of the best climbs in the valley: our track starts in Vrhpolje at 134 m and climbs 778 m in 12.6 km to the Abram farm at 902 m, where the asphalt ends. The average of 6.1% hides a steep heart. Here is how the climb is built, how to ride it, and how to turn it into a loop.

The climb: easy, steep, then easy again

The road leaves Vrhpolje, just outside Vipava, and climbs onto the western flank of Nanos. It is the road the Vipava Valley tourist board's mountain-bike loop uses to come down from the Abram farm towards Sanabor and Vrhpolje, so you are riding it uphill.

• Vrhpolje: a stiff start. The first two kilometres climb at 7.3% and 7.0% out of the village. It is enough to warm you up properly.
• The false flat. Kilometres three and four ease right off, to 3.3% and 2.1%. It is pleasant and it is a trap: what comes next is the hardest part of the climb.
• The heart of it: kilometres five to nine. The road turns up the mountainside and climbs at 8.4%, 8.4%, then 11.4% and 10.0%, the steepest kilometres on the route, and 7.9% after that. In five kilometres you climb almost 470 m. By 10 km you are at about 810 m and the valley is spread out beneath you.
• The run-in to Abram. The last 2.5 km are gentler: a flat kilometre, one more at 7.1%, then easy ground to the farm at 902 m.

How to ride it

Most riders reach Abram in 50 minutes to an hour and a quarter. The climb is all about the five steep kilometres in the middle. Arrive at them fresh, and the rest takes care of itself.

• Ride the first four kilometres at endurance pace. Around 70–75% of FTP. The false flat in particular is where riders go too fast because it feels easy.
• Hold a steady 85–90% of FTP from kilometre five. That is a 25–30 minute effort, and the 11.4% kilometre will push you above it. Stay seated, keep your cadence up, and don't chase the gradient. Pacing a climb with power covers the method.
• Gear low. A compact with a 32 sprocket is right for 11%. See gearing for climbing.
• Summer heat. The lower slopes face the valley, so start early on a hot day and carry two bottles.

Nanos and the valley below it

Abram is only the start of Nanos. Its highest point, Pleša, is 1,262 m, with the Vojkova koča mountain hut just below. The tourist board says the hut is named after Janko Premrl – Vojko (1920–1943), a national hero born in Podnanos. The village, with its narrow old streets and the bell tower of St Vitus, was also the birthplace of the composer Stanko Premrl, who set Prešeren's Zdravljica to music.

Down at the start, above Vrhpolje, stands the marble Cross of Theodosius, put up in 1994 according to the Municipality of Vipava. It commemorates the battle of 394 between the Roman emperors Theodosius and Eugenius, and it stands on a rock where, the story goes, Theodosius prayed before the fighting.

Then there is the wind. Nanos is one of the three slopes, with Gora and Čaven, that the burja pours down in bursts when high pressure sits over Central Europe. The tourist board says gusts can exceed 200 km/h. It blows mostly in winter, and when it is strong there is a ban on caravans in the valley. Don't ride an exposed mountain road in it.

Practical: gravel, loops and the season

• Where the asphalt ends. The tourist board is clear that the paved road ends at the Abram farm. Above it a gravel road continues past the Vojkova koča to the top of Nanos. That is a ride for a gravel or mountain bike, not for a road bike.
• The other way up. A second road climbs from Podnanos, and the tourist board's mountain-bike loop from Vipava uses it: 8 km of steep climbing towards the hut, then gravel over the top and down past Abram to Vrhpolje. That makes 44.1 km and 1,392 m of climbing with a high point of 1,240 m.
• Road loop. On a road bike, climb from Vrhpolje, turn round at Abram and descend the same way, then add the flat valley roads. Our Vipava valley guide and the Predmeja climb across the valley make a good day with it.
• Season. Spring and autumn are ideal; summer is hot in the valley; winter brings the burja. Check the forecast first: wind forecasts for cyclists explains what to look for.
• The descent. The steep middle section is narrow and comes back down at over 10%. Brake early; descending faster and safer has more.

Ride it in Moveee Indoor

The route on this page is the real road from Vrhpolje to the Abram farm, with its height at every point. In Moveee Indoor your smart trainer reproduces that gradient as you ride, and the world around you is built from the map of the actual place: the village, the valley floor and the slope of Nanos. On the trainer the false flat feels as tempting as it does on the road, which makes it a good place to practise restraint. Ride easy for four kilometres, then see what you can hold for the five that matter.

It is a useful benchmark climb too: around half an hour of hard work at 8–11%, about the same as a long threshold interval. Prefer your own device? Download the GPX above and load it into any app that rides GPX files.

The short version

12.6 km and 778 m from Vrhpolje to the Abram farm at 902 m, where the asphalt ends. Ride the easy first four kilometres gently, because kilometres five to nine climb almost 470 m. Avoid the burja, start early in summer, and leave the gravel to the top for another bike.