Slovenia's lakes and how to choose between them

The most beautiful lakes: Bled and Bohinj

Lake Bled is the image of Slovenia, with its island, the church and the traditional boat that rows you out to it. It’s lovely, and in summer it’s also one of the busiest places in the country. Close by, also in the Julian Alps, Lake Bohinj is what the tourist board calls the country’s biggest natural lake, right by Triglav National Park.

The difference, for me, is atmosphere. Bled is for a stroll and the photo; Bohinj is for staying put, walking to Savica Falls or taking the cable car up Vogel. If you’re spending a night by one of them, make it Bohinj.

Easy lakes, no hike needed

If you’d rather not climb, there are easy options. Lake Jasna, by Kranjska Gora, is a pair of linked man-made lakes with Prisank and Razor behind, wooden jetties and summer swimming. Near Idrija, the Wild Lake is a karst lake that became the country’s first open-air museum. On Pohorje, the Lovrenc Lakes are bog pools you follow on boardwalks.

Further east and south the lakes get more urban. There’s Velenje’s, born of coal mining and now with a beach, Šmartno Lake beside Celje, Lake Sobota with the Expano pavilion, Bukovnik in Goričko with its adventure park, and Rudnik Lake at Kočevje, which sits at the bottom of an old lignite pit.

High-mountain lakes

Higher up, things get serious. Inside the national park is the Triglav Lakes Valley, or Valley of the Seven Lakes, which holds seven lakes all year and some that come and go, several named for their colour, like the Green, Brown and Black Lake. It’s a proper mountain route, not an afternoon walk.

Lake Krn, on the plateau where the Soča Front was fought, is the largest high-mountain lake in Slovenia. And at Jezersko, Planšar Lake is shaped like a heart, a reminder of the glacial lake that gave the village its name.

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The largest lake in Slovenia

There’s a catch. The largest by area is Lake Cerknica, at 26 km² according to the government, but it’s intermittent. It lies on a big karst field in Notranjska and fills or empties with the rain, so you might find a vast lake or a meadow. The tourist board counts it among Europe’s largest intermittent lakes and records more than 270 bird species.

The largest permanent natural lake is Bohinj, and the largest man-made one is Lake Ptuj, created by damming the Drava. People in Ptuj call it their seaside.

Combining several lakes on one trip

On a first trip, give Bled and Bohinj two days, with an afternoon at Jasna if you’re heading for Vršič. If you’re on the Karst for the caves, detour to Cerknica, and if you’re touring the east, Ptuj and its lake go well with the old town. I’d leave the high lakes to walkers with time, a map and a good forecast.

If you are short on time, see the best tours in Bohinj and pick one that fits your day.

To sleep close to everything, search places to stay in Bohinj on Booking.com and filter by area before price.