Lake Jasna, Kranjska Gora's postcard

Things to do at Lake Jasna

In summer people swim from the piers, though the water comes from mountain streams and is cold. On the second lake a 6-metre lookout tower gives you the view from above. Paths run round both lakes and, nearby, there’s a Kneipp path, a circuit of stones washed by cold mountain water for a foot massage after a walk.

The two classic photos are the bronze ibex, on a rock by the water, and a wooden frame featuring Kosobrin, one of the characters from the Kekec stories, which frames the mountains. On the shore there’s also a small library where you leave a book and take another. On summer evenings there are musical performances against the walls of Razor and Prisank.

What Lake Jasna is like

Jasna isn’t a natural lake. It’s two linked artificial lakes, 2.2 hectares in all, formed where the Velika Pišnica and Mala Pišnica streams meet, just before the first bends of the Vršič Pass road. Tourism Kranjska Gora describes it as one of the most popular and accessible lakes in the country, and it’s true that you can walk there in a few minutes from the centre of Kranjska Gora along a pleasant path. By car, there are two car parks a few steps from the shore.

Behind it rise Razor and Prisojnik, two of the great walls of the Julian Alps, and that’s what makes the photo.

Where to eat by the lake

On the shore, on Vršiška cesta, is Boutique Hotel Milka, with just six rooms, all overlooking the lake and the Julian Alps, and a small fine-dining restaurant with two Michelin stars. It’s the valley’s clearest treat. For something simpler, you can grab a drink or an ice cream by the lake. And if you come in winter, the lake shows another face, snowy and silent, which to me is almost lovelier than in summer. For more spots like this, see my pick of the most beautiful places in Slovenia.

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

Fly fishing at Jasna

Jasna is a well-known fishing spot, but only fly fishing is allowed. If you’re interested, I explain how the fisheries work in fly fishing in Slovenia. Above the lake opens the Mala Pišnica valley, where the Slovenian Tourist Board reckons some larches are well over a thousand years old, in its words the oldest and thickest in Europe. One of the two paths up Vitranc, the mountain with the ski runs, also starts from Jasna.

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

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