Vintgar Gorge, from the boardwalks to the Šum waterfall

A canyon open to visitors since 1893

Glaciers shaped the area and, as they retreated, the Radovna looked for a new way through at the lowest point between the hills of Hom and Boršt. After the last ice age the water kept cutting down, and only at the very end, where the rock is harder, did the step of the Šum waterfall survive.

The gorge stayed out of reach until 1891. That winter was so dry that the Radovna dropped and let in Jakob Žumer, mayor of Gorje, and the photographer and cartographer Benedikt Lergetporer. Local people paid for the walkways, bridges and galleries with money from businesses, hoteliers and fundraising dances, and the path opened on 28 August 1893. The origin of the name is still a mystery; it may be Celtic, or from the German Weingarten, after vineyards near Podhom. Today the gorge marks the eastern edge of Triglav National Park.

The boardwalk route

The gorge path runs one way only, from the VINTGAR visitor centre to the Šum waterfall, and takes about 45 minutes with an audio guide. From there you return on the King of Triglav Trail, 4.1 km across the slopes of Hom through woods and meadows, with views of Bled and the Ljubljana basin. In total it’s 5.7 km with 80 steps, of moderate difficulty, and you should allow around 3 hours.

The Radovna stays at about 10.5 °C all year, and inside the gorge it’s always cooler than outside. More than 600 plant species grow here, and the river is home to the souffia, a flat-bodied fish, the white-throated dipper and, in winter, the otter. According to the official site, at the end of the gorge stands Slovenia’s largest fully preserved stone railway arch bridge, 34 m above the river, and beneath it the intake of the Vintgar power station, the oldest hydroelectric plant still working in the country.

Helmets, time slots and rules

Helmets are compulsory along the whole gorge section, because rock can fall despite the nets. Swimming, leaving the paths, picking plants and flying drones are all forbidden, and dogs go in on a lead with their own pass. The visit isn’t recommended for children under 3 and isn’t possible with a pushchair. If you can’t manage the full walk, you can see just the Šum waterfall, reached from Hom or from Blejska Dobrava.

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

Getting to Vintgar from Bled

You can’t drive to the entrance. The official, free car park is VINTGAR LIP, where you can also buy the pass, and the electric shuttle runs from there roughly every seven minutes. A second shuttle leaves Bled’s main bus station every 15 minutes for pass holders. By train, the nearest stop is Podhom, on the Jesenice to Nova Gorica line, and from Bled you can walk in about 50 minutes or cycle. Coming from the capital, the guide to getting from Ljubljana to Bled covers the train, the bus and the car. The gorge opens in April, and for planning those first weeks of the season there’s Slovenia in spring.

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