At 8.30pm, you’re standing on the shore of Lake Bohinj, admiring the sunset. With a smile on your face and exhausted, you think back on this incredible day spent in the Slovenian mountains: the walk in the mountain pastures among the chalets with a view of Slovenia’s highest peak (Triglav), that old secret bench on which you stayed for a long time admiring Lake Bohinj and its glacial valley. You also think back to that walk through the secret Pokljuka gorges, with that old wooden footbridge clinging to the wall, and that traditional lunch in the middle of the mountain pastures…
Follow the activities in this article and you’ll have a memorable holiday where everything fits together perfectly!
Bled and Bohinj, Slovenia’s two most beautiful lakes, are 29 km apart. To link them up, you can either follow the main road (the red one on the map below) through the valley like 99.99% of tourists, or take a secret route through the hills. This is the route I’ve coloured green on the relief map below.
This route links five beautiful attractions that are rarely visited by tourists. I’ll explain how you can easily link them up and spend an extraordinary day on holiday.
During this one-day tour, you’ll enjoy a variety of activities and spectacular views. Even in August, you’ll be able to get away from the tourist crowds. You’ll reach the beautiful Slovenia that Slovenians enjoy in their free time.
A day’s holiday in the Slovenian mountains you’ll remember for a long time
This article is actually the result of many days spent exploring these heights on foot, by bike and by car and then thinking about how the most beautiful attractions in the area could be combined into a great day’s holiday. It’s my fifteen years here that allow me to design this kind of off-the-beaten-track route with beautiful places that will flow together perfectly. For this route, I’ve kept only the best of what I’ve discovered in this part of Slovenia.
Method for a memorable day: The activities in this article will fill a little more than a day. Follow the route and, as the day progresses, select the activities that appeal to you most.
If, as I recommend, you have decided to spend a few days on the shores of one of these two lakes, devote a whole day to these attractions.
Adjust the number of activities to suit your departure time, the pace you want to set for your day (I often say on my website that you shouldn’t rush through Slovenia) and your physical condition.
You can choose to start from either Lake Bled or Lake Bohinj.
Tip: If you’re staying at Lake Bohinj, simply start at the end of the article and do the activities in reverse order.
The incredible Pokljuka Gorge – 1H30
From Lake Bled, follow the sign to Pokljuka. In all, it will take you 27 minutes to reach the Pokljuka plateau, where many of the activities in this article are located, but before you do, after just four kilometres, you’ll pass the Pokljuka Gorge. Stop to walk through these dry gorges, which end in this impressive old wooden footbridge. The path winds through a narrow canyon. I’ve detailed everything you need to know to discover this amazing, off-the-beaten-track place in this other article.
The magnificent Pokljuka plateau
After the gorges, it’s time to get in the car, Simone! 20 minutes on a beautiful winding road and you’ll reach the Pokljuka plateau (enter Rudno polje in your GPS). During these few kilometres on the plateau, you’ll enjoy some lovely views through the windscreen: you’ll feel like you’re on a Finnish road or a beautiful mountain road in California. Amid huge fir trees, a summit of the Julian Alps appears in the distance.
The Visevnik summit – hike – 3-4h
The Pokljuka plateau that you have just reached by car is 1,400 m above sea level. It’s an excellent starting point for hiking, and Visevnik is one of Slovenia’s favourite hikes. The start of the hike is high up, so you can quickly get out of the forest and enjoy the magnificent views. The hike lasts 3? hours if you do just the round trip to the Visevnik summit. It takes 4 hours if you do a loop, as I recommend in this article on this hike.
A cappuccino at the Biathlon centre
After the hike, or even if you haven’t done it, you can go and have a coffee at the hotel. You’ll be on the terrace overlooking the targets for the winter biathlon competitions. It’s a nice little break from the mountain air. The only problem is that parking is €5 or €7, but there is free parking and cappuccinos are €2.
Sports Centre Triglav Pokljuka –Srednja vas v Bohinju 165/a (Rudno polje) – 4267 Srednja vas v Bohinju
The astonishing village lost in the Goreljek forest – 30 minutes
Leave the Pokljuka plateau – Rudno Polje – to reach Goreljek, an astonishing village of chalets scattered throughout the forest. You’d think you were in the depths of Siberia. It’s certainly not as beautiful as Velika Planina, but it’s not bad.
Tip: Goreljek is a very nice place to stay, not far from lakes Bled and Bohinj. If you love nature, think again!
Park at the little chapel (here in Google maps) and then follow the educational trail which takes you around a beautiful peat bog in 20 minutes (there’s water under a carpet of vegetation!). You walk on footbridges around this amazing natural formation and learn lots of things (but the signs are in English). Not the most impressive spot of the day, but an unusual one.
Then on to Planina Zajamniki – 2 hours
For several years now, I’ve been thinking that the magnificent wooden village of Planina Zajamniki should feature in this travel guide to Slovenia. With the idea of devoting an article to it, I took all the hiking trails that lead to it, but each time I came to the same conclusion: while the village at the end is superb, the path to get there was not panoramic enough, and I always try to avoid this kind of unentertaining route. Nonetheless, it’s an easy and straightforward hike that can replace the one to Visevnik. Find out more about it on the blog.
A magnificent long wooden village
I found an interesting solution: cycling! Of course, you have to pedal to get to the village! So you hire bikes at the only place where you can hire them on the Pokljuka plateau, the Sport Hotel , and pedal your way to this wonderful village on a gravel road. The full-length photo of the hamlet from a small hill at the very end of the village will explode your likes counter on Instagram and Facebook.
Here’s the address where you can hire bikes in the area (around €15) and the map to get there. Follow the path I’ve marked in green on the map. It’s about 8 kilometres one way. It’s on gravel and in the forest. You’ll have views of small wooden villages and also a few good climbs.
Sport Hotel – Goreljek 103, 4247 Zgornje Gorje – Tel 386 31 325 666 (To book bikes)
The route to follow by bike
Getting there on foot: It’s possible and not too bad. Find out more in this article.
The little village of Spodnij Goreljek – 25 min
If you love mountain pastures with little wooden houses and if you’re enjoying a sunny day, then spend 15 minutes in the little village of Spodnij Goreljek. To reach it, follow the route I’ve marked in green on the map below and walk through this remote wooden village that’s completely off the beaten track.
Tip : If you’re running out of time to do it all, skip the visit to this village.
Tip : If you’ve decided to cycle to Zajamniki, you can make a quick stop off at Sopdnji Goreljek, but if you do, take the small white road below the green route on the map.
A spectacular view of Lake Bohinj – 30 min
It took me several years to discover this incredible view of Lake Bohinj and its U-shaped glacial valley. It was the favourite viewpoint of Valentin Vodnik, a Carniolan priest. It now bears his name because he spent 3 years in the village and often came to admire the valley.
To reach this viewpoint, park in the small village of Koprivnik v Bohinju, next to the church(Župnijska cerkev povišanja sv. Križa – here) and follow the signs to Vodnikov Razglednik.
Tip: The small village of Kroprivnik V Bohinju is a great, authentic setting if you’re still looking for accommodation near lakes Bled and Bohinj.
This is one of the two best views of Lake Bohinj in the area. Spectacular!
Ten minutes’ walk later, you’re at an altitude of 1,016 m, sitting on a wooden bench in awe of the unobstructed view that you’ve reached so effortlessly. The sun is setting just about in line with the lake, so this could be a good place to end your day. On the way back to Koprivnik, where you parked, you can enjoy a coffee.
Note : This place is still off the beaten track. I urge you not to tag the exact location on Instagram so that it doesn’t become an armoured place.
the point to reach by car: here
Studor’s traditional kozolec – 10 minutes
Then head down towards Lake Bohinj, and as you get closer you’ll pass kozolec, the wooden drying sheds that are emblematic of the Slovenian countryside. Take a look at these amazing drying sheds.
A swim in Lake Bohinj
You’ll arrive in Bohinj at the lake’s best beach. If you feel like it, and if the temperatures are still mild, end your day with a dip in the lake. If you’re leaving from Bohinj, start your day with a swim, because a day that starts with a bit of breaststroke is always a great day.
Tip: The light on Lake Bohinj is often fabulous an hour before sunset. Try to be there at that time.
A delicious burger at Foksner
To recover from this emotional day, why not join us for a burger at Foksner, a restaurant that makes its burgers with as many good local ingredients as possible and charges around ten euros for them, including fries. I don’t recommend eating burgers in Slovenia, but this is a great place to go.
Tip : Serve your burger with a Pelicon Yes boss beer.
More traditional : Eat at Strudl or in the Pri Hrvatu gostilna.
And for a delicious gourmet dinner for €35 , eat at Resje above Bohinjska Bistrica. So now you know my top three addresses on Lake Bohinj.
Foksner – Ribčev Laz 42, 4265 Bohinjsko jezero
Resje – Nemški Rovt 21a, 4264 Bohinjska Bistrica
Gostilnica Strudl – Triglavska cesta 23, 4264 Bohinjska Bistrica
Gostilna pri Hrvatu – Srednja vas v Bohinju 76, 4267 Srednja vas v Bohinju
You won’t be able to do all this in a day.
Unless you leave at 7am, you won’t be able to do it all. The must-sees in this article are :
- Pokljuka Gorge ,
- The Visevnik hike
- The village of Zajamniki
- The viewpoint over Bohinj.
So now you have all the keys to an extraordinary day’s holiday in Slovenia. Come back and tell me in the comments what you enjoyed most about this day. If you have any ideas or have found a secret place to make it even better, I’d love to hear from you.