Following the call of the cuckoo in Slovenia
A hiking sojourn in Slovenia uncovers pristine forests, lakes and rivers and little in the way of clock-watching.
How is it, we wonder, as that onomatopoeic call resounds across the glade, that the cuckoo and the clock got together? It’s a question of little consequence, but with the worries of the world left far below us, it’s the only issue of the moment. My wife and I have had a sturdy walk for an hour towards the summit of Mt Svinjak in western Slovenia, found a resting place in the soft beech mulch and lunched royally on leftover pizza, apples and wafers, when the birdsong rings out.
But even workshopping how chirrups usurped chimes in olden times feels against the spirit of this tranquil place, and we’re stalling the making of an important decision. We’re trying to honour the itinerary from Australian trekking outfit UTracks for its self-guided seven-day Lake Bled and Julian Alps tour, but we’ve been given a late start, and trail signs quote ascent times in excess of what we’ve expected. Just because Mt Svinjak is there doesn’t mean we have to be, and we’ve reached a height of contentment already, so we “tap out” and descend back through these magical woods.
Europe has many popular circuit and point-to-point hikes, whereas this is more radial. We’re based in two towns, first Bled with its famous lake, and then deeper into the mountainous Triglav National Park. Some days are all on foot, others include a bus or we’re chauffeured into the hills to find our way back to town. The transfers kick off in Slovenia’s capital, Ljubljana, where we get an inkling that these operators keep bankers’ hours, as we’re not collected at our hotel until 11am. Our driver would love to come to Australia but has questions. Such as, when is “spider season”, and can kangaroos be kept as pets? Stumped by the first, I let him down gently on the second, which surprises him. “Not even a little one?”
The itinerary proper begins tomorrow so we have an afternoon to explore Bled, notably the lake circuit past St Martin’s Church with its white steeple, a lofty 16th-century castle, and Vila Bled, once Marshal Tito’s holiday home and now a hotel. A detour up to the Mala Osojnica lookout is worth the effort, with a view down the lake that contains Slovenia’s only island, home to another picturesque church. The outpost is reached by pletnas, gleaming wooden boats with colourful canopies rowed in gondola style by boatmen standing at the rear.
At our hotel we’re briefed by UTracks’ local operative Matei, who doles out general information, bus tickets, transfer details and maps, although more useful is the app, which lays out each route, shows where you are – or aren’t – and estimates arrival times.
The entree is a three-hour round trip, all on foot, through villages and wildflower meadows, passing ancient barns and multi-coloured beehives, to Vintgar Gorge. This landform is 1.6km long, up to 100m deep but in places barely metres wide. The Radovna River cascades over rocky shelves and through bottlenecks to settle into deep pools. It’s criss-crossed by bridges, and wooden gantries help negotiation of narrow sections. The route then cuts through a forest, where we get the first cuckoo call of the trip, and back to town for coffee and a national treasure, Blejska kremsnita (Bled cream cake). This stack of puff pastry, custard and cream is heavenly, and any resemblance to a vanilla slice is purely coincidental.
Day two requires a bus to Bohinj, 45 minutes southwest of Bled. The original itinerary dictates an ascent to the remote Triglav Lakes Valley. But Matei reckons it’s too challenging and provides an alternative walk, to the Savica waterfall and then along a lake on the valley floor.
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The country is pristine, with water so clear you see the ducks’ legs at work in the ponds, while fields are awash with wildflowers, including highly scented lily of the valley.
After Bled, there are three nights in Bovec, a small town in the mountainous Soca Valley a few hours west. A new driver, Dragan, drops us at the bottom of Mt Svinjak before taking our luggage to the hotel, while we begin what will be our partial ascent. The later walk, back to Bovec, is a joy, through more forest and, for a bit, along the Soca, a river we’ll come to know well.
The next day’s published starting point is Krn, the largest glacial lake, and possibly the highest (1395m), in Slovenia. It sounds marvellous. But our transfer can’t get us any closer than a carpark that’s at least a five-hour return hike before another five back to Bovec, and it’s already 9.45am. On this gorgeous Sunday, just walking anywhere is a treat, so we happily ignore Krn and head for Bovec, soon to be heralded by today’s cuckoo – there’s only ever one a day.
These dark woods are Grimms’ fairytale country. The trees are like sticks, rising from ground studded with vivid moss-covered boulders. In time we come across a surreal place, a gorge roaring with the life of five cascades in a 100m stretch. This is the Sunik water grove, which is lauded on an information board by the nearby road: “These energical (sic) springs influence very favourably on the man’s feeling.”
After lunch we stride into a place that at first glance could be a gingerbread house, fronted by an overgrown garden with odd sculptures in metal and wood. It’s actually a wonky World War I chapel and graveyard for soldiers from Slovenia, Italy and Austria who fought in the mountains above us.
That night we examine the proposition for tomorrow’s last day, a 26km epic from the source of the Soca back to Bovec. A 10am transfer isn’t going to cut it, especially as we have a 7pm booking at a likely-looking restaurant, so we extract an earlier pick-up from Matei and are dropped in the hills. Again, it’s perfect tramping weather. The app can guide us, but we mainly rely on gravity, as it’s all downhill, and sound, for the Soca’s roar is a constant reassurance even when not in sight. We cross it often enough, on bridges of varying stability, but the most exciting places are where the distinctive alpine blue river cuts through deep, narrow gorges.
There’s something satisfying about pushing our pace to stay ahead of the app’s estimated finishing time, and reaching the gingerbread chapel shows we’re close now. The restaurant, Sovdat, is attained with a full 30 seconds to spare, to devour grilled trout, chunks of lamb and a smooth Slovenian merlot. My step-counter shows we’ve somehow managed to add 7km to Matei’s 26km day, and our heads hit the pillow heavy but happy that Dragan isn’t collecting us for the return to Ljubljana until 10.30am, for once making us grateful for Slovenia’s predilection for late starts.
IN THE KNOW
UTracks’ Lake Bled and Julian Alps tour operates from mid-May to mid-October. It includes six nights’ accommodation in three-star hotels in Bled and Bovec, with transfers (private car or bus) from and back to Ljubljana; from $2350 a person. UTracks specialises in guided and self-guided hiking, cycling and boat tours in most European countries.
utracks.com
Slovenia sits between Austria, Italy and Croatia. Ljubljana is about six hours by train from Vienna or Venice. Eurail has point-to-point tickets or the convenient Eurail Pass.
Jeremy Bourke was a guest of UTracks.