When I stayed with Gianfranco on Day 402, he told me about a system of tunnels in the hills outside of Nova Gorica. Darij dropped me in town on his way to work and I proceeded to walk north to find them. On the main road I managed to hitch a ride towards Sveta Gora and was left on the roadside approaching the town.

Formerly part of Austria-Hungary, Nova Gorica is on the border to Italy and formed part of the Italian Front. Along this division were defensive Pillboxes which is why I have found so many in the region and on the Adriatic.

This shows the separation of Gorizia in Italy and Nova Gorica, Slovenia - the former being in the distance. The cities merge on the plain and you can walk between them.

Into the woodland, it wasn't long before I discovered the network. In one set of tunnels I found World War I rifle rounds which were still live. There were old rusted cans and the decayed remnants of equipment. Some of the tunnels had collapsed but many connected and were in good condition.

From what I explored, the network is extensive but doesn't go deep into the hill; all except for one tunnel which passes through one side of the hill and 300m out to the other. There were strange insects on the cave walls which remained motionless and were unphased by my presence. Water had collected in a small chamber and was around 1.5m deep. A rope had been installed in the subterranean passage to assist the ascent; it looked weathered and tired. I'm always wary of such things as not knowing the condition of the tunnel, what the rope is attached to and for how long it's been there, the risk increases. I'd rather not support myself from it - nobody wants a cave-in when you're flying solo.