Pearls of Slovenia: Lake Bled, Bled Castle, Bled Island, Triglav National Park, Vintgar Gorge, & Lake Bohinj
Overview
The northwestern corner of Slovenia is home to some unbelievable pearls of nature: Alpine lakes, the iconic Vintgar Gorge and wider Triglav National Park and of course, the infinitesimally beautiful and popular town of Bled. Bled is a small resort town in the foothills of the Julian Alps and set along the glacial Lake Bled. On a cliff overlooking the lake is the 11th-century Bled Castle, which houses a museum, chapel and printing press. In the centre of the lake is a small island, home to the Pilgrimage Church of the Assumption of Maria, with its steep staircase and bell tower. This is accessible by a short boat ride from the banks of the town of Bled. Meanwhile at Lake Bohinj, the shimmering water and towering alps make for the perfect backdrop to the small Church of St John the Baptist.
There’s no limit to the invigorating lake and alpine walks available, with the fresh mountain air ready to transport you away from ordinary life.
How do I get there?
This stunning region is a destination in itself, with its own airport in Bled, and you’ll find many visitors fly directly to Bled from Ljubljana Airport. I visited this region as a day trip from Ljubljana, the fairytale capital city of Slovenia. You can read my Ljubljana itinerary highlights here. Regardless of how you travel to Bled, the highlights in this post can be covered as a full day trip, or more comfortably achieved in 3 days. If you’ve made your way to Ljubljana, I’d highly recommend this day trip for its sheer beauty alone. If you have more time in Slovenia, then definitely head south to the famous Postojna Cave, Predjama Castle and Istrian coast town of Piran.
Itinerary
Visit the charming town of Bled
Explore Slovenia’s famous Lake Bled
Boat across to Bled Island
Hike through the lush Vintgar Gorge
Explore the huge Triglav National Park
Enjoy a lakeside lunch at Vila Prešeren
Take in magnificent views at Bled Castle
Try the famous Kremšnita cream cake
See the ornate frescoes inside the Church of St John the Baptist, Lake Bohinj
Enjoy a peaceful walk around Lake Bohinj
Below: beautiful colours in autumn at Bled
Map of the region
Bled
The town of Bled is a perfect base to explore the incredible hidden treasures of the Slovenian Julian Alps. It has a quaint small village feel and in the warmer months it’s perfect for swimming and kayaking. I’d recommend searching for a small airBnB and completely forgetting the rest of the world!
Lake Bled
Undoubtedly, Lake Bled is the famous drawcard of Slovenia. Its waters are unbelievably blue and change colour at almost every angle. This really is a case of ‘you have to see it to believe it’: unfortunately the photos do not do it justice! Make sure to spend some time walking around the lake to truly appreciate it. The entire walk would take approximately 2 hours. There are multiple water activities available on the journey: kayaking, stand up paddleboarding and of course, swimming!
Don’t miss your opportunity to cruise Lake Bled on a traditional pletna boat in the capable hands of a pletnarstvo (oarsman). Their unique ‘stehrudder’ rowing technique has been passed down for generations!
Lake Bled is as unspoiled as they come. In fact, Slovenians have banned motorboats on the lake, so the only options for visitors are to hire a rowboat or to hop aboard a pletna boat. These boats are wooden, flat-bottomed, hand-made, hand-painted and date back to the 12th century! They are also meticulously cared for by their owners and you’ll be mesmerised by the standing oarsmen who propel you along with their two oars. For a glimpse into a centuries-old Slovenian tradition, this is one soul-stirring adventure you will never forget.
Bled Island
You simply can’t miss a trip to Bled Island. Boat operators are certainly monopolising the market here, with boat trips amounting to 12€ and entry to the 17th-century St Mary’s Church of the Assumption another 6€. Walking around the small island is an absolute treat, with remarkable views of Bled Lake, Castle and town.
Slovenia is full of urban legends and there are multiple pertaining to Bled Island, many of which inspired the greatest Slovenian poet France Prešeren. The most well known of these is the legend of the sunken bell. It is believed that good luck will come to anyone who rings the bell at St Mary’s church.
The Legend of the Sunken Bell
A young widow was inconsolable after her husband was killed by bandits and his body thrown into Lake Bled. She collected all of her silver and gold and cast them into a new bell, which she planned to place next to St Mary’s Church on Bled Island as a memoir to him. However as it was being transported to the island, a severe storm caused the boat and bell to sink, and all the men in the boat drowned. Local Bled residents say they can still hear the bell and the voices rising from the depths of the lake.
After this accident, the young widow sold all her possessions and moved to the monastery in Rome. On her death, the Pope commissioned a new bell, which was built and stands today by St Mary’s Church, in her honour. Those who ring the bell and state their wish to the Lake Bled widow, have the opportunity to be heard and have their wish fulfilled.
An alternate theory to the wishing bell
Another legend is that whomever manages to ring the bell 3 times with just one pull of the rope will be granted a wish. The only catch? You have to truly believe in God.
In the photograph above, you can see the 99 steps leading up to the top of Bled Island.
In Slovenian folklore, a groom must carry his new bride up the beautiful Baroque staircase (all 99 steps!) to ensure a long and happy life together.
Vintgar Gorge
When putting our Slovenia itinerary together, Vintgar Gorge was a must. Visions of crystal clear emerald green and aqua waters were at the forefront of our imaginations yet what we encountered in real life was even more beautiful. The Vintgar Gorge (or Bled Gorge) is 1.6km long, located in the Triglav National Park, 4km northwest of Bled. Carved by the Radovna River, this easy hike will take you along boardwalks that criss-cross the river, allowing you to capture some incredible pictures and feel completely immersed in nature. It is without a doubt one of the most enchanting places in Slovenia and it’s a great option for singles, couples or families alike.
Note that in peak season, you should expect to share the boardwalks with many people! Entry is €10 for adults at the time of writing. Allow a few hours to traverse the gorge and take some pennies for a hot coffee at the cute cafe at the end!
Triglav National Park
Vintgar Gorge is one of the highlights of Triglav National Park, a region that sprawls 880km2. It is Slovenia’s largest protected area and only national park. It is named after the country’s highest peak, part of the Julian Alps: Triglav. Sadly we only had time to explore the Vintgar Gorge however there are a plethora of hikes that can be done here. For the serious explorers, it would be worth spending a few days in Triglav National Park.
Lunch at Vila Prešeren
Beneath Bled Castle and on the banks of Lake Bled, lies one of the most charming restaurants I experienced in Slovenia: Vila Prešeren. The sun was shining and the air warm, so we sat outside amongst the other guests, whimsically spending their afternoons in relaxed conversation with good food and wine at the ready. We arrived to the lilting tunes of a live band and enjoyed char fillets of freshly caught lake trout with a much enjoyed glass of Rebula wine, one of Slovenia’s most popular varietals. I’d highly recommend this restaurant which evokes a sense of inner peace and tranquility within its gorgeous grounds! Views of the lake and castle are also a highlight.
L: live music at Vila Prešeren, M: Bled Island from the restaurant, R: picturesque surroundings of Vila Prešeren
Bled Castle
There’s something that’s fascinated me about castles ever since I was young. In fact, the first ever location I placed on my bucket list was Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria, Germany! My love for them stems largely from their astounding visual presence from afar. I am just in awe of a castle perched high up on a hill!
One look at Bled Castle and all of these past travel memories came flooding back. It is absolutely astounding, with its red roof standing in stark contrast to the white cliff it clings to and the mountains shrouded in green furs that surround it. Its sheer vertical drop concludes with the shimmering waters of Slovenia’s famous Lake Bled.
Dating back to 1004, Bled Castle is the oldest in Slovenia. It was restored in the 1950s and the castle is open to the public, with some towers now dedicated museums detailing the Castle’s interesting past. It even has its own wine cellar home to unique wines from around the world, as well as a bee hive and a smithery!
By far some of the best views across Bled are from the castle walls. Here’s your chance to get some aerial photography of Bled Island!
Famous Kremšnita cream cake
The award for the best Kremšnita in Slovenia is hotly contested. To be fair, if you ask a handful of people, you’ll likely get a different response. That being said, there’s no doubt amongst locals that the Kremšnita at Bled Castle is a hot contender.
Kremšnita is a cream cake that is characterized by delicate puff pastry atop layers of light vanilla cream and custard. It dates back to the height of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the 18th and 19th centuries. Almost all the countries under the Hapsburg’s former reign still have a version of the cake: Bosnians enjoy krempita, Polish love kremówka, and Slovakians dine on krémeš. The Slovenian version, Kremšnita, is taken extremely seriously. It has even been granted a protected designation of origin status, thus it is only produced in the patisseries at Lake Bled.
Abundant versions of the recipe can be found online, however I’d be so bold as to say that without the Slovenian Alps, the swans on the lake, the mist and the impressive castle, it probably wouldn’t taste quite the same!
Church of St John the Baptist, Lake Bohinj
St John the Baptist Church in Lake Bohinj is a picture-perfect medieval style building at the head of this beautiful Slovenian lake. It sits beside a small stone bridge and dates back at least 700 years.
The nave is Romanesque but the Gothic presbytery dates from about 1440. Many walls and ceilings are covered with 15th and 16th century frescoes. Despite the postcard-worthy exterior of the church, the frescoes within are somewhat sordid. Visitors will notice the beheading of the church’s patron saint, Abel making an offering to God and Cain also, with his inferior one. You’ll find images of angels, some with vampire-like teeth. Above these angels are three men singing, all with goitres, once a common affliction in mountainous regions due to the lack of iodine in the diet.
The carved wooden head of St John the Baptist on the side altar to the right dates from 1380.
Lake Bohinj
Lake Bohinj is one of the most picturesque lakes in Slovenia. A peaceful trail circulates its perimeter. Allow 3-4 hours to complete all 12 km of the flat terrain, or more if you’re photo-hungry! You’ll find many families enjoying its many tiny beaches along the water’s edge. It really is such a perfect place to find a spot alone and just be, while letting all of your worries drain away! The colours are astounding. Note that despite this being a small country village, there can actually be some significant traffic across the bridge in the evenings!
Another popular photographic spot on Lake Bohinj is that of Zlatorog. Zlatorog is a Slovenian god, a golden-horned chamois or ibex (depending upon the variation of the legend you hear) that lives in the mountains of Triglav National Park.
With so much beauty in Slovenia, you really must explore beyond the capital of Ljubljana and visit its beautiful lakes, mountains and castles!
