Vipava Valley

The Vipava Valley (pronounced [ʋiˈpaːʋa]; Slovene: Vipavska dolina, German: Wippachtal, Italian: Valle del Vipacco) is a valley in the Slovenian Littoral, roughly between the village of Podnanos to the east and the border with Italy to the west. The main towns are Ajdovščina and Vipava.

It is a narrow valley, serving as the main passage between the Friulian lowland and central Slovenia, and thus also an important corridor connecting Northern Italy to Central Europe. It is closed to the north by the high Trnovo Forest Plateau (Slovene: Trnovski gozd), and to the south by the Karst Plateau and the narrow Branica Valley, a geographical sub-unit of the Vipava Valley. It is named after the Vipava River. Its main urban center is Ajdovščina. Administratively, it is subdivided into the municipalities of Ajdovščina, Vipava, Nova Gorica, Renče-Vogrsko, and Miren-Kostanjevica. The municipality of Savogna d'Isonzo in the Province of Gorizia (Italy) is also located in the valley.