This summer’s movie blockbuster has been well travelled before it even reaches the screen.

Like its predecessor The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe (and The Lord Of The Rings trilogy), The Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian was filmed partly in New Zealand for its magnificent scenery, but the final battle scene takes place in a remote but wonderful valley closer to hand, beside a river of otherworldly blue, the Soca in Slovenia.

For once, there is no digital trickery at work.

The Soca really is that luminescent colour, the valley it runs through really is that glorious green and it really is walled
with those dramatic mountains. It is also virtually undeveloped and has a habitually sunny climate, being on the southern side of the Alps.

Narnia's characters found a natural home in Slovenia

For an outsider, entering this Eden via mountain passes to the north feels like clambering through the back of the European wardrobe.

The best route entails driving out of Slovenia via one valley and then doubling back on yourself to return through a little bit of Italy. You don’t need a password or to pull any hidden levers but it still feels as if you’re entering a secret place.

The Soca itself comes bounding enthusiastically out of the mountains near the point where Slovenia, Italy and Austria meet.

Having picked up its colour in underground limestone caverns, it completes its first few kilometres at some speed, scouring through deep canyons, until the valley opens out and it can relax into langorous pools lined with silky white sand and stones and filled with rare marble trout.

It was here that the filming was done, with plenty of residents as extras. It is here, too, that the Soca valley’s tourism begins and as with New Zealand’s dramatic landscapes, it’s the kind of tourism that is mostly about invigorating fresh air and a wide range of outdoor activities, from hiking to hydrospeeding, biking to paragliding.

These activities are considerably cheaper than in better known Alpine resorts further north. Most of this tourism is centred on the small town of Bovec, just selected to represent Slovenia in Europe’s Destination of Excellence awards.

As a destination it is not particularly pretty, regular earthquakes in the valley have ensured that few old buildings survive, but it is intimate, well supplied with good value restaurants and bars and the small main square has an enthusiastic vibe during the holiday season.

Not everyone is here for the white-water rafting or the fishing, though. There is a dark edge to the Soca valley, just as there is to Narnia and The Lord Of The Rings, and it’s not just the occasional earthquake. For much of the past century the valley has been at the epicentre of Central European power struggles, swapping hands regularly, which is why it is comparatively undeveloped.

NATURAL BEAUTY: Soca Valley

Its darkest moment came during the First World War when it was the front line between the Italians and the Austro- Hungarians, latterly reinforced by the Germans.

Both sides were entrenched high up on opposing mountains, making minimal progress in murderous terrain. More than a million soldiers died there, many  as a result of the merciless winter conditions.

It is also where the Germans, with one regiment lend by a young Lieutenant Rommel, pioneered the blitzkrieg techniques that they used so effectively in the Second World War.

As a result, there are monuments to the fallen, military roads, trenches, machine gun posts and decaying fortresses all along the valley tops, with museums and private collections in Bovec and nearby Kobarid.

They tell a story of savagery hard to believe of what seems such a benevolent land. Any doubters can read Ernest Hemingway’s anti-war classic A Farewell To Arms, a partly fictionalised account of the writer’s experiences as an ambulance driver for the Italian army at Kobarid.

Certainly, the valley is full of stories. Whether you spend your time walking the Soca trail, climbing the military roads to find evidence of man’s inhumanity to man or just peering over hanging bridges at the river’s marble trout, this is clearly a place where legends live on.

It is easy to imagine bumping into the Zlatorog, a golden-horned mountain goat that is supposed to haunt the mountain passes, and the arrival of the Narnia cast and crew must have seemed a natural fit.

Hopefully, the resulting film has managed to capture some of the Soca’s magic.

Even if it hasn’t, you can always go see yourself.

GETTING THERE: Crystal Active Mountain (0870 888 0266) has seven nights’ half -board at the Hotel Alp in Bovec from £429pp (two sharing), including a guided hike, white- water rafting or £25 towards an activity of your choice, return flights from Gatwick and transfers.

Bookable activities include horseriding, canoeing, canyoning, kayaking and caving.

Slovenia Tourist Office: 020 7227 9719.

* The Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian is released in cinemas nationwide on June 19.