Lake Bohinj

Lake Bohinj is the largest lake in Slovenia and, unlike nearby Bled, lies in the middle of Triglav National Park and is far more unspoilt. The glacially formed lake is framed by mountains; nearby the Savica waterfall plunges down, and a cable car leads up to the Vogel hiking and ski area. Swimming, kayaking and hiking are to the fore.

Highlights

• Slovenia's largest lake, unspoilt
• Located in the middle of Triglav National Park
• Savica waterfall nearby
• Cable car to the Vogel with panorama

Good to know

Practical info

Background & History

Lake Bohinj is the largest natural lake in Slovenia and lies, unlike fashionable Bled, in quiet seclusion in the heart of the Triglav National Park. Framed by the steep walls of the Julian Alps, its elongated basin was once gouged out by Ice Age glaciers. The people in the Bohinj valley lived for centuries from alpine pasture farming, from charcoal burning and from the working of iron, whose ore was won in the surrounding mountains and smelted in simple furnaces, before tourism gradually took hold in the late 19th century and gently opened up the valley.

On the western shore the lake is fed, among other sources, by the water of the Savica Waterfall, which plunges from the rock in a striking fall and is regarded as one of the sources of the Sava, one of the most important rivers in south-eastern Europe. The small Church of Saint John the Baptist at the lake's outflow ranks, with its medieval frescoes, among the most important sacred buildings of the region and is a much-photographed landmark. Above the valley rises the Triglav, at almost 2864 metres the highest mountain in Slovenia and national symbol of the country, whose ascent is regarded as a kind of coming-of-age test for Slovenian mountaineers and is deeply anchored in the country's identity.