Bike Tripster: November 2018

Photo: Lake Jasna

It's been a while since I last posted an article. It seems I saved the best for last, at least with regard to my bike trips in 2018. It was the beginning of October when I went on a trip to the Soča Valley; at that time I didn't know it was actually going to be the last this year. I was lucky that the warm weather lasted so long into the autumn that I was able to enjoy a couple of rides across my beautiful country.

I waited for the temperatures to rise a bit, before pulling my bike out of the garage. As I only rarely visit the beautiful Soča Valley, I decided it was high time to treat my bike to the long undulations of the Vršič Pass down to the valley of Soča River.

Lake Jasna

Photo: View of the Vršič Mountain Pass from Lake Jasna

It took me about an hour to reach Lake Jasna, located just outside of the town of Kranjska Gora, known as the town that hosts World Cup alpine skiing races for men and a popular ski resort of Slovenians and skiers from the neighbouring countries. Kranjska Gora and Lake Jasna are located in the centre of Triglav National Park, boasting some of the most spectacular nature, with forests as far as the eye could see, mighty peaks, and water sources with the most beautiful shades of blue and green.

Lake Jasna are actually two artificial lakes connected one to the other and located underneath the Vršič Pass which paves the way toward the majestic Soča Valley. In the summer months, this is a popular place for all who want to cool off and enjoy the crystal clear water of the lake and for all fans of hiking as this area provides lots of hiking trails towards the top of the surrounding mountain peaks. It is also a popular place to take magnificent photos of the surrounding Julian Alps and the glistering light on the surface of the lake in which one can easily see the reflection of the mountains rising above the lake. The amazing colours of the lake made me sit by the lake and just relax and enjoy the sights before heading to the top of the Vršič pass.

Photo: Wooden sculpture by Lake Jasna

Vršič Pass

The Vršič mountain pass is just a few kilometres away from Lake Jasna, yet the road uphill takes well over 20 minutes to reach the top. Why? Well, if you ride to the top of the mountain pass from the Kranjska Gora direction there are 24 turns to the top and then if you continue riding toward the beautiful Soča Valley you are blessed with 26 turns until your reach the valley of the emerald green river Soča. The ascent as well as the descent are quite tricky, since the road is uneven and in parts also covered with cobblestone; yet the numerous turns make this road perfect for bikers who crave such long undulations, although in some sections the road, especially while descending, gets rather dangerous, so extra caution must be given.

Photo: View from atop the Vršič Mountain Pass down towards the Soča Valley

Photo: The Russian Chapel

On my way to the top of the mountain pass I stopped by the famous Russian chapel, built to pay tribute to Russian soldiers who helped build the road during WWI. The location is very peaceful, the chapel neatly situated amidst the trees, underneath mountain peaks to all sides. I walked around a bit, sat down on the grass, enjoyed the view of the peaks which were not yet covered with snow, before heading to the top of Vršič.

Since it was a rather unseasonably warm day for October, there were a lot of tourists visiting this mountain pass, popular among fans of hiking and all those who love to admire the breathtaking nature offered by spectacular vistas. I found a spot to park my bike and immediately made a couple of new friends. The view of the valley below extends from the high mountain peaks to the forests and the river in the distance. It was time for me to descend to the Soča Valley below and tackle the 26 turns in front of me.

Photo: Making friends ...

Soča Valley

All bikers will probably know what it means to cover an altitude of almost 800 metres across 26 turns while descending from atop a mountain pass. The brakes on my bike were working hard, but it was well worth it, as the undulations t down towards the Soča River offered spectacular views of the peaks and forests all around me.

When reaching the valley below, I stopped for a coffee in a quaint little place close to the source of the river Soča. As I was in my full gear, I did not take a walk towards the source, located just about 20 minutes of walking from the coffee place. Admiring the green emerald river, which was also a setting for the popular Hollywood blockbuster The Chronicles of Narnia made me realise in what nature-rich and beautiful country I actually live.

Photo: Soča River in Lepena

I made about 20 kilometres more to the resort of Lepena, a popular camping place which is usually packed with locals and even more so foreign tourists in the hot summer months, since the Soča River represents a perfect place to cool off, as the water temperature never really reaches more than 16, 17 degrees Celsius. This also means that you don’t really want to swim in it, but rather just jump in it to cool off and quickly run out to dry off. There were some “brave” or “crazy”, if you like, tourists who were actually jumping in the little river pools, even though it was already October. I walked around a bit and just couldn’t get enough of the marvellous colours of the water. It was so peaceful on the one hand and so exhilarating on the other.

Photo: Soča River pools in Lepena

Photo: Soča River

It was almost 5 o’clock and the sun was already looking to find a haven for the day, which meant that I needed to get a move on. Even though I could choose a faster road, passing the towns of Bovec and Idrija on my way back to Ljubljana, I just couldn’t miss out on the opportunity to tackle the Vršič Mountain Pass again – this time in the other direction. The turns uphill from the Soča direction toward Kranjska Gora were even better! On the top of the mountain pass I took a few more photos with the mountains behind me before heading back home.

Photo: Map of the Route

A perfect end to a perfect day. I want to stress it again – regardless whether you are a biker or not, you should visit this part of Slovenia – amazing scenery will leave you speechless and gasping for air. Click on some additional photos below to see what I mean.