Let’s look at some lovely natural scenery in the Triglav National Park of Slovenia, which is right next to Lake Bled. We spent a day walking in the woods beneath Mount Triglav, and riding a cable car high above Lake Bohinj.
Triglav National Park is located in the northwestern part of the country and is Slovenia’s only national park. It covers an area of 340 square miles (880 sq km).
Mount Triglav is located toward the center of the park and is the highest summit in the park as well as the collective Julian Alps. Mount Triglav reaches a peak of 9,395.2 feet (2,863.6 m) and it serves as one of the symbols of the country.
The Soca and Sava rivers are fed from glacial runoff from the mountain and surrounding peaks that feed into the valleys that come off of Mount Triglav. The valley and park is home to 59 ethnobotanical plants species with 37 of them have specific medicinal qualities.
The two river sources, Sava and Soca, combined with the elevation changes create a number of different waterfalls for visitors to experience. The tallest waterfall is Boka Falls which reaches a height of 348 feet (106 m) and stretches across 59 feet (18 m). A second drop for the falls is 108 feet (33 m) working together to create a pretty spectacular waterfall.
The melting glaciers and snow create a series of glacial lakes throughout the park. Lakes include Triglav Lake, Lake Krn, Lower and Upper Kriz Lake, and the largest which is Lake Bohinj. There are numerous marked trails that allow travelers to explore the falls, valleys, rivers, and gorges.
Wildlife of the park adds to the natural visit and includes brown bear, lynx, red deer, ibex, and the chamois. The golden eagle is the pinnacle sighting of the 84 species of birds found within the park boundaries.
(source)
We drove out of the Lake Bled area, along the motorway that parallels the Austrian-Slovenian border, and back into the mountains along the Vrata valley. Our GPS tried to discourage us: It showed the narrow road covered with worrying red x’s. But as we slowly headed deeper into the valley, a few ordinary cars passed us on their way out of the valley: evidence that the route was more open than the GPS reported. Persevering, we found a parking area deep in the valley and decided that this would be a good place to start our walk.
It was a chilly October day. The sky was mostly cloudy, but there were patches of blue sky and sunlight. The leaves on the trees were just starting to show yellow and orange. We encountered very few cars and other walkers, so the air was quiet except for the breeze in the trees, and the crunch of gravel as we walked.
Fairly quickly, we came upon the Peričnik Waterfall. It must seduce quite a few visitors because we found numerous signs warning about rock slides, muddy trails, and falling to your death. We stayed suitably far away. It was very pretty even from our vantage.
We had chosen this route because it points directly at mighty Mount Triglav. But the clouds of this morning kept getting in the way. So we enjoyed the journey, as we are supposed to, without worrying too much about the destination.
After our walk in the woods, we headed, by car, around to the other side of the National Park, to the largest permanent lake in Slovenia: Lake Bohinj. The Julian Alps and Mount Triglav form a majestic wall to the north of this glacial lake.
The lake is beautiful at water level…
…but a cable car summoned us to the heights.
Almost 1000 meters above the surface of the lake, the Vogel Ski Center extends into the high mountain valleys. The views from atop the Ski Center cable car run are majestic.
We finished the day with a leisurely drive along tidy country roads back to Lake Bled.
