There’s plenty of water in the Soca Valley, near the Italian border, in Slovenia. And plenty of beautiful waterfalls too.
This time we decided to settle for the nearest ones (those in the Goriška region,to be specific). So, early in the afternoon, we left home and headed towards Kobarid, a nice small town (very well known to Italians for historical reasons – see the H. Hemingway novel A Farewell to Arms, if you’re curious) just after the border.
From the town of Kobarid, it’s very easy to reach the falls. We parked our car just after the Napoleon Bridge, and started the walk.
Start passing over the main bridge in the town of Kobarid, heading towards Bovec. Follow signs for Kamp Koren, and park thereby. Start walking on a gravel road, which you should be able to see from your car park:
Sooner rather than later, you will start seeing the Soca river on your left side. Follow the track…
After a couple hundred meters, the track splits. There’s a stair going uphill on the right. Following this detour will give you a chance to see some World War I trenches (on what it’s nowadays called the Kobarid Historical Walk).
After several minutes, the detour joins the track to the waterfalls again, which now enters the stream bed.
If you decide to stick to the lower path and skip the trenches, just make sure you do not cross the river walking on this bridge:
It’s probably not dangerous. It’s just that this won’t take you to the waterfalls.
Keep on following the path, when it steers right also. You’ll step into this little bridge:
Keep on walking and cross it, as you’re close to the destination: the beautiful Kozjak waterfalls..
The other nearby waterfall, the Slap Virje is in Bovec, just above the town. A GPS is handy here, as the waterfalls are a couple of kilometers away from the town of Bovec, in a small village called Plužna. From the Bovec town center, you need to take the main road going uphill. You then need to take a left, and follow signs for Plužna. Once you reach the village center, you’ll find a fountain, in front of you. Here you need to take a right (again, going uphill). From here, it’s just a couple of more minutes, until the (tiny) parking lot where you can leave your car. A 10 minute downhill path takes you to the waterfalls, which look amazing, especially because there are usually few other visitors.
What to bring
Gear
- Cameras with tripod
- A wide-angle lens, which works best for the panoramic photography
- A middle-zoom lens (24-70 mm)
Wear
- Waterproof and windproof jacket
