The third day of our Balkan tour will be marked by the Vintgar Gorge. These are close to Bled, so they offer a nice hiking trip.
Vintgar Gorge
In the morning we get up around 8:00. We have breakfast in the common dining room and before 9:00 we set off on our journey with a stop at the local Merkator food chain. The road from Bled to the gorges is about 4 km long and passes through picturesque villages reminiscent of those in Austria. The route also offers nice views of the surrounding countryside. The path is well marked, so you cannot get lost.
On the way to the gorges, just make sure you get to the right entrance. The gorges are one-way and they won't let you in from the other side. You need to go to the village of Podhom to get to the main entrance. Unless you take a wrong turn like we did at the parking lot in the final part, which is well marked. We missed two signs and instead of going to the gorges we went to the top of Hom. It was awkward in that I had been here once before. Halfway up the hill it started to feel weird, so I looked at the map instead to see that we were going really stupid. The consolation prize was at least a nice view of the surrounding countryside.
A wrong turn
Well, at least the view
So we're going back and getting on the right track. It leads logically along the Radovna River. Another unpleasant surprise awaits us near the guesthouse Gostišče Vintgar. There is a queue for the ticket office. It is about 500 m long, the waiting time is about half an hour and it is all Czechs. Just a traveller's dream. On the other hand, the long queue in the gorges was not noticeable and they were well passable, so sometimes we managed to get nice photos without people.
Vintgar - Queue at the box office
Vintgar was discovered in 1891 and has since become one of the most popular tourist attractions in Slovenia. It is famous for its steep cliffs, clear waters and beautiful waterfalls, making it an ideal place for nature lovers.
Walking through the gorge, we move on wooden footbridges and bridges that wind over the Radovna River. It took us about 45 minutes to go through the whole thing with taking pictures.
Vintgar Gorge
Vintgar - End with railway bridge
The view of the Shum waterfall, which is already outside the paid part, is such a golden point at the end. Together with the railway bridge it makes a nice natural scenery, which we didn't see due to ignorance, because we didn't go to the viewpoint. The way to it is over the bridge behind the toilets. Unknowingly deprived of the Šum waterfall, we return to Bled. Those who have a car have to walk in a roundabout way to the main entrance to the car park. In the village of Zasip we had lunch at the Kurej restaurant, where I had the ultimate Cevapi with grilled vegetables and it was one of the best meals I've had in Slovenia.
Zasip Village
After a hearty lunch we continue towards Bled. We rest at the hostel for a while and continue to the beach to take another dip in the lake. We were where we were yesterday at the beach near the campsite. Some brave people swam from the beach to the island. I strategically kept an eye on things.
After bathing. We had one more duty on our agenda, and that was to shop for the next four days when we would be at Lake Bohinj and hiking for two days in the mountains. At Lake Bohinj, there is only a mini shop at the campsite with a few odds and ends. There is no bigger store anywhere, so we had to stock up in Bled, where they have an Interspar in addition to Merkator. There we bought, besides supplies, vegetables for our dinner together in the form of Šopska salad, which we prepared at the hostel in more than large quantities and had to give away.
Dinner
After a hearty dinner, Katya initialized the event with a beer in the hostel bar. There we had a few bites some of us played table football and then we went to our room to sleep. Tomorrow as I mentioned we will move to Lake Bohinj.
Useful links:
Vintgar Gorge - official site
Hotels in Bled
