Gorje, home of Vintgar and gateway to Pokljuka

Vintgar, Gorje’s famous gorge

Gorje’s headline sight is Vintgar gorge, a 1,600 m canyon cut by the Radovna river. It was discovered in 1891 by the mayor of Gorje, Jakob Žumer, and the photographer and cartographer Benedikt Lergetporer, during a winter so dry that the river dropped low enough to let them in. Local people paid for the walkways through dances and donations, the path opened in 1893, and in 1912 they fought off a plan to dam the gorge for a power station. The official site says most of today’s guides are people from the municipality, younger and older generations alike. Entry is by booked time slot, and the gorge only opens from April to October, so it pays to plan ahead.

Pokljuka gorge, the quiet one

Far less known and much quieter is Pokljuka gorge, also inside the national park. Glacial water carved it into the limestone some 10,000 years ago and then vanished, so the Bled tourist board presents it as the largest fossil gorge in Slovenia. It’s 2 km long and 40 m deep in its most picturesque stretch, with walls up to 50 m high, a 22 m waterfall, a natural bridge 24 m above the ground and Pokljuška luknja, a cave with two entrances and three natural windows.

A circular trail follows the floor of the gorge and returns along the rim, linking up with Zatrnik, and the narrowest part is crossed on wooden gallery walkways. Above them runs the partisan pass, the only crossing over the deep gorge.

Cycling the Radovna valley

Between the Mežakla and Pokljuka plateaus runs the Radovna river, which at the end of its valley disappears into Vintgar. A family-friendly cycle trail follows the valley past ridged meadows, a lime tree several centuries old, the man-made Lake Kreda, the Pocar homestead and Psnak’s sawmill and mill. Local tradition says Napoleon’s army marched through, as Napoleon’s stone recalls. The Second World War left the Burned-Down Radovna memorial and the remains of the Smolej homestead.

Once your dates are set, check which hotels are still free in Bled before prices climb.

The Pokljuka plateau

From Gorje the road climbs to the Pokljuka plateau, the great forested block of the national park, about 20 by 20 km and between 1,100 and 1,400 m above sea level. It has high peat bogs, pastures with shingle-roofed huts where in summer you can buy sour milk and cheese, and the stadium that hosts the Biathlon World Cup every year.

If you would rather have a local show you round, book a guided tour in Bled and choose by the reviews.

Once your dates are set, check which hotels are still free in Bled before prices climb.