The connection between Kranjska Gora and Trenta was probably known to ancient peoples who lived in our lands. The first visitors to the pass were likely hunters, followed by shepherds. This led to the creation of the first paths across the pass, then called Kranjsko Sedlo. In the Middle Ages, people settled in Trenta.

Life in this very remote valley was extremely harsh, and the nearest route to civilization led through the Vršič Pass to the then Borovška Village (today’s Kranjska Gora). In exchange for cheese, wool, and skins, people obtained the essentials for their survival. In the 16th century, ironworking developed in Trenta, leading to deforestation. This continued until the 18th century, after which Trenta fell silent again. Janez Vajkard Valvasor mentioned the mountains above Kranjska Gora in his book “The Glory of the Duchy of Carniola,” describing the path across Kranjsko Sedlo.

In the 19th century, isolated shepherds mainly used the pass, occasionally visited by scientists like the physician Belsazar Hacquet. He described the foundries, the geological structure of rocks, and alpine flora, publishing them in “Plantae Alpinae Carniolicae” (1782). The area was also visited by notable figures such as the Englishman Humphry Davy, French botanist Albert Bois de Chesne, and mountaineers Dr. Julius Kugy and Dr. Henrik Tuma. As mountain visits increased in the second half of the nineteenth century, locals began making a living as mountain guides and timber trading also flourished.

Throughout history, the pass received various names: Jezerca, Kranjski vrh, Mojstrovka Pass, and Apenverein. In 1901, the first hut, Vosshutte, was built on the pass, now known as Erjavčeva koča. Eleven years later, the Slovenian hut followed, now known as Tičarjev dom, named after the physician and mountaineer Dr. Josip Tičar.

Although the First World War was still in the future, Austrians recognized the importance of this part of Slovenia. In 1907, military exercises were organized around Vršič, and Archduke Franz Ferdinand himself attended. Different military branches crossed the pass during the exercises, leading to the construction of an emergency road and several bridges and setting the route for the future road.