I was determined to visit as many countries as possible on this trip, so I made sure to carve out a day for Slovenia, despite our tight schedule.
Our first stop was Lake Jasna after a three-hour drive from Lake Königssee. Set against the backdrop of the Julian Alps, this crystal-clear alpine lake did not disappoint.
As it was getting dark soon, we didn’t have enough time to explore other sites, so we headed to our hotel to rest. Once inside, we were captivated by the postcard-perfect view from our room.
We had two sites we wanted to visit this morning, with the first being Vintgar Gorge (Soteska Vintgar).
Visiting the gorge required hiking a 4-mile loop trail, but starting at 9 am when the gorge opened would leave us short on time to complete everything before our planned departure at noon.
So instead, we parked at St. Catherine Church (where parking is free) at around 8:15 am and began our hike from there.
Here’s the trail info.
Trail: Vintgar Gorge – St. Catherine Loop
Length: 3.95 mi
Elev. gain: 725 ft
Time: 1:22:14
Track:
https://www.alltrails.com/explore/recording/morning-hike-at-vintgar-gorge-st-catherine-loop-fdad3b5
We arrived at the gorge entrance just as it opened, but we were slightly delayed because I didn’t realize it was timed entry. We missed the first group and had to wait 10 minutes before we were admitted.
After we visited Vintgar Gorge, we drove to Lake Bled. Since this is a very popular tourist spot, and we arrived in the middle of the day, we barely found a parking space.
We had several options for things to do, but I eventually decided to go hiking instead of walking around the lake.
Here’s the trail info.
Length: 2.14 miles
Elev. gain: 715 ft
Time: 1:03:06
Track:
https://www.alltrails.com/explore/recording/lake-bled-ojstrica-velika-osojnica-mala-osojnica-130f1a8
The ascent was very steep most of the hike.
But once we reached the top, the view made the climb worth every effort.
The picturesque Bled Island, in the middle of the lake, is said to be the only natural island in Slovenia.
We spent some time enjoying the view before continuing along the loop trail and starting our descent, which was also quite steep.
We continued to enjoy the lake view throughout the rest of the hike.
I wish we’d have some time to enjoy a leisure walk around the lake, but due to itinerary changes (long story), we needed to be back in Austria by 3:30 pm before the next site we were visiting closed. So, we left the lake and headed back as soon as we finished the hike.