Vintgar Gorge

Bucket List item #592 – Vintgar Gorge

Bled, Slovenia

If only I was blogging back when I visited Vintgar Gorge. I would have put in some effort and taken some real photos. I am repeatedly feeling this way about my travels before blogging. I’m just kicking myself for not bringing an actual camera or a tripod, for not staging some cool shots, for not putting in the effort, etc. However, there is something to be said for being in the moment. Yikes, that balance is going to be hard going forward because I just want to bring these amazing places I’ve seen to all of my followers. I want you to see this and feel inspired to explore Vintgar Gorge, too.

I can’t say enough good things about Vintgar Gorge because it’s absolutely epic. The word “Vintgar” means “wine garden” in Slovenian. Side note: I personally think Slovenian is the prettiest of all Slavic languages to listen to, and that’s not because I’m bias (being Slovenian and all). Anyway, Vintgar was the first gorge in Slovenia to be made accessible to the public, which happened in 1893. Obviously, as you can tell even from my half-assed photos, Vintgar is epic. It has the most beautiful blue water, which is characteristic of Slovenia in general. You’ll find this throughout the country. It’s the Triassic limestone walls on either side of the water that make this place truly beautiful. The contrast between the colors mixed with the lush, green vegetation is like a fairytale. The fact that you’re walking so close to the water the whole time is quite nice, too. It’s like your floating above a river.

Funny enough, with all that beauty, Dave and I found something totally different to obsess over on our two hours walk through the gorge: fish. The water was crystal clear, making a direct line to the fish. You could see every fish in the water! They were all floating so close to the surface, too. It was really strange for them to stay so close to the top in clear waters like that. They would make for easy targets to any predators. We later learned from a park ranger that there are no natural predators in that part of the gorge, so they can continually float close to the surface without worry. It makes for the most amazing spectacle.

Dave and I had the most wonderful afternoon moseying along the wooden bridges at Vintgar. It was so easy! This was not a difficult hike in any way. It was casual and well-kept. All you need is some walking shoes and a light coat for when it gets windy. Something waterproof is even better for when you’re closer to the waterfalls, depending on the time of year. We were there June 2^nd and it was a little chilly. For my Colorado followers, the weather variable in Slovenia is just like Colorado. You dress in layers because the temperature shifts a lot throughout the day. Vintgar is only a 10-minute drive from the city of Bled, it has a parking lot, and it cost basically nothing. I think it was maybe 5 euros? So cheap for an afternoon of perfection. If I could do this over, I would bring a picnic basket and plop on a rock at the very end of the path and just sit and enjoy the gorge. I would also go when they first open 8am. There weren’t that many people there, but it would have been cool to have it a bit more to ourselves. I do think the time of year was great. Spring and Fall are really the best times to go because it gets very busy in the summer.

So, guys, what do you think? Are you itching for a leisurely walk with the fishes through Vintgar Gorge?