Vintgar Gorge Hiking and Visiting Guide

One of our favourite places to visit in Slovenia is Vintgar Gorge (we’ve been several times). It’s a beautiful, enchanting, and narrow canyon where wooden boardwalks offer spectacular vantage points of the river flowing below. Depending on the lighting, location within the gorge, and time of day, the water color can change from crystal clear to a beautiful emerald turquoise. The gorge trail is very easy and family-friendly. Moreover, the gorge is easily reachable from Bled or Ljubljana and isn’t very costly to visit. To help you plan the perfect trip, we put together this Vintgar Gorge Hiking and Visiting Guide.

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You might also be interested in these pages (coming soon):
Best Things to See and Do in Bled (Slovenia)
Best Day Trips from Bled (Slovenia)
5-Day Slovenia Road Trip Itinerary
Best Hiking and Walking Trails Near Bled (Slovenia)

Vintgar Gorge Location & Map

Vintgar Gorge (occasionally referred to as Bled Gorge) is located in northwestern Slovenia, 4 km northwest of Bled, on the edge of Triglav National Park.

How to Get to Vintgar Gorge from Bled

By Free Shuttle: A free VINTGAR e-Shuttle bus runs from the Bled central bus station to the Vintgar Visitor Centre every hour on the hour.

By Car: Using your car from Bled to visit the gorge isn’t ideal because the gorge car park is roughly halfway between Bled and the gorge. From there you will either have you will either take a free shuttle to cover the final 2 km (see the “arrival by car, parking and free shuttle” section below) or walk the rest of the distance.

On foot: From the center of Bled, it’s about a 4km walk (about 45-50 minutes). The walk is fairly straightforward: you simply need to walk towards Podhom and then follow the signs along the way that direct you to the Gorge.

Unless you are unable to walk over long distances, we highly recommend the walk from Bled. It’s both a pleasant and scenic experience and you will get to discover some of the beautiful Slovenian countryside. There’s also a scenic loop trail that starts and ends in Bled, we describe this trail in greater detail below.

You can also easily combine walking in one direction and taking the free e-shuttle back in the other.

By e-bike: Another great way to reach Vintgar Gorge from Bled is to rent an e-bike. To simplify the process you can book a self-guide e-book tour that includes the rental for the e-bike, a bike, a map, and the entrance fee to Vintgar Gorge:

How to Get to Vintgar Gorge from Ljubljana

By Car: To reach the main Vintgar car park from Ljubljana, it’s about a 45-minute drive (60km). From there you will have to free VINTGAR e-Shuttle bus that runs every 20 minutes.

By Bus: You can take a bus from Ljubljana central bus station to Bled central bus station, which takes about 1h-1h15. From the Bled central bus station, you can use any of the methods described above to reach the gorge (walk, free e-shuttle, or rent an e-bike).

If you need to book a rental vehicle for your travels, we highly recommend using Discover Cars to get the best rates on your rental in Slovenia.

We also highly recommend Airalo (eSIM card) for your connectivity needs when travelling abroad. Airalo is the world’s first and largest eSIM store with eSIM plans for 200+ countries and regions worldwide.

Important: All Slovenian freeways and expressways are subject to tolls. All cars, motorbikes and camper vans must have purchased online a digital vignette when they plan to drive onto a motorway or expressway. Digital Vignettes with periods of validity of 7 days, 1 month, 6 months or 12 months are available and can be purchased from the Slowenien Vignette website. They are not prohibitively expensive — for instance, the 7-day vignette for cars costs €13.90 (2024).

By Group Tour: This can be a great option if you don’t want to deal with the transit logistics while benefiting from a time-efficient direct route between Ljubljana and Bled. For instance, the following tour includes a visit to Lake Bled, Bled Castle and Vintgar Gorge:

Arrival by Car, Parking, and the Free Shuttles:

There are two official car parks, both of which cost €5 (2024). Free shuttles run from the Parking Areas to Vintgar Gorge.

The VINTGAR LIP Parking Area is the closest to the gorge and is the main parking area. From here, the free shuttle leaves every twenty minutes (on the hour, at 20 minutes past the hour and at 40 minutes past the hour). If you don’t want to wait for the shuttle, you can also walk (about 30 minutes) to the gorge entrance from the parking area.

Alternatively, the VINTGAR Blejska Dobrava Parking Area is another option, particularly for those coming from the west, which will help avoid a large detour through Bled. However, the free shuttle only leaves every hour (on the mark), so correctly timing your arrival is critical. This car park is close to the gorge exit, meaning that it is often quicker to just walk straight to your car after having visited the gorge than to loop back to the gorge entrance to catch the shuttle back to the car park.

Note: You might have read elsewhere that there was a parking lot right by the gorge entrance. This indeed used to be true, but in 2024 the parking lot was closed to limit car traffic in the area, which wasn’t designed to accommodate so many daily vehicles.

About Vintgar Gorge

Vintgar Gorge is a 1.6-kilometer gorge carved by the Radovna River. The gorge’s walls are 50 to 100 meters (160 to 330 ft) high. Throughout the gorge, you will encounter small pools, rapids and picturesque waterfalls.

It wasn’t until 1893 that the gorge was equipped with wooden observation walkways and bridges and opened to the public.

Upon exploring the gorge, you will notice a very small hydroelectric dam has been built below the gorge, above which passes the arch railway bridge for the Bohinj Railway. The bridge was built in 1905 and is the largest stone arch railway bridge preserved in its entirety in Slovenia.

Best Time to Visit Vintgar Gorge

Best Time of Year

To enjoy nice weather with fewer crowds while taking full advantage of what the area has to offer, we definitely recommend shoulder season (early June, September and early October). The summer high season can get quite busy and the gorge boardwalks can get quite crowded. Also, visiting during the summer high season requires more advanced planning as tickets are likely to sell out (more details on purchasing tickets in advance are provided below). The Vintgar Gorge is closed in winter for safety reasons.

Best Time of Day

Definitely try to visit the gorge as early as possible, ideally around opening time. Your experience will be much more pleasant, trust us.

The gorge is typically busiest between 9:30 and 15:00 when walking along the boardwalk gets more crowded and can occasionally become an annoyance. If you can’t make it early in the day, try to come a few hours before closing.

Planning Your Visit

Vingtar Gorge’s Opening Hours and Costs (2024)

Hours

The Vintgar Gorge is open from mid-April to mid-October (exact dates vary from year to year). The opening hours also vary from month to month:

Tickets

Individual tickets cost €10 per adult (reduced fare for children under 15. The entry ticket price includes the helmet rental. However, there is a €50 penalty for losing or damaging the helmet.

Due to high demand, it is strongly recommended to purchase your tickets ahead of time, especially during the peak summer season. Tickets can be pre-purchased in advance here.

Important: when pre-purchasing your tickets, you will need to not only specify a date but also a specific time slot during which you will start your visit. Available time slots are broken down into 20-minute intervals, and each time slot has a limited number of available tickets.

Important Information About Visiting the Gorge (2024)

-Wearing a helmet was recently made mandatory; helmet rental is included in the ticket price. Helmets are to be returned at the end of the Gorge, at the exit point near the Šum waterfall.

-The gorge trail is one-way, walking in the wrong direction can be subject to a fine of €50. This is to avoid traffic jams during the busiest visit periods. The return to the gorge entrance is done via one of two trails outside of the gorge.

-Guided Tours and Audioguides are available on-site. Audioguides are included with your regular ticket. Guided tours take place every day at 4 pm and cost €28.

-Swimming, fishing and the use of drones are forbidden anywhere in the gorge.

-Hiking shoes are recommended due to the occasionally slippery surfaces, particularly after rain.

-Know that it is generally a bit cooler in the Gorge than it is in the surrounding areas, so you might want to bring an extra layer.

– There are food and refreshment options both at the Vintgar Visitor Center (gorge entrance) and from a small stand by Šum waterfall (near the gorge exit).

-Dogs are permitted in the gorge but tickets must be purchased for them (€3) and they must be kept on a leash at all times. They must also wear a muzzle if using the e-shuttle.

-There are public restrooms at the gorge entrance and the gorge exit (near Šum waterfall).

How Much Time Do You Need at Vintgar Gorge

Once you have entered the Gorge, even though it isn’t very long you should plan for about 45-60 minutes to walk along the gorge trail and see the waterfall at the end (though your visit might take a bit longer if visiting during peak summer periods). Then plan for about another hour for the return trip back to your starting point (the Gorge entrance).

The Vintgar Gorge Walk

This is obviously the highlight of the adventure. Wooden boardwalks follow the gorge’s walls and run for approximately 1.6 km. If you were to walk non-stop you could exit the gorge in under 30 minutes, but as we said above you should plan to stick around longer to enjoy the beautiful scenery.

The boardwalk also crosses the river on several occasions giving you spectacular vantage points to capture some of the river’s various features, including small pools, falls, and rapids.

The first half of the gorge was our favourite, as the canyon is narrower and the river is flowing more rapidly. Eventually, however, once you feel like the best is behind you, you will come across a small dam with a scenic railway stone bridge passing above it. Trains still use this bridge, so you might get lucky and see one pass over.

Shortly thereafter, you will reach Šum waterfall, Slovenia’s tallest river waterfall. Although its height might not actually be that impressive, it’s quite beautiful nonetheless.

Although there’s a small wooden bridge that passes over the waterfall, to get the best views continue for about 100 feet past it, cross the river over the service road and then make your back towards the falls on the opposite side of the river.

The gorge trail officially ends at the waterfall, where you see a wooden shack that sells snacks and refreshments.

The Vintgar Gorge Return Loop Options

After you exit the gorge, return your helmet, and take the time to appreciate the Šum waterfall, you have two options to return back to the starting point, assuming that is your goal. Alternatively, you can also decide to walk back to the VINTGAR Blejska Dobrava car park if that’s where you park since it’s actually closer to the gorge exit than the shuttle pick-up point near the gorge entrance. The walk there should take about 20 minutes. You can also decide to walk back to Bled from there, which will take you about 50 minutes. That’s actually what we did, and we describe the walk in the next section below.

Your two trail options to return back to the gorge entrance and shuttle pick-up point are:

Option 1: Longer route with a stop by St Katarina Church (King of Triglav trail)

This route goes through a mix of open pastures and forests, with a stop by the scenic St Katarina Church. A few short hops from the church is a restaurant featuring an outdoor patio with stunning views, for those in need of food or refreshments. We recommend following the trail on AllTrails for easy navigation.

Distance: 5.5 km (full trail including gorge)
Route Type: Loop
Elevation gain: 105 m (206m cumulative elevation gain)
Start point: Gorge entrance point
AllTrails rating: (4.6, 595 ratings (2024))
Duration: Most people complete the loop in about 1h30-2h

The beautiful St Katerina church:

Option 2: Shorter route (River of Trees Trail)

This option is ideal for those who either want a shorter route or to have more shade during a hot summer day since most of the trail is under the cover of trees.

Distance: 4.5 km (full trail including gorge)
Route Type: Loop
Elevation gain: 180 m (228m cumulative elevation gain)
Start point: Gorge entrance point
AllTrails rating: (4.5, 313 ratings (2024))
Duration: Most people complete the loop in about 1h15-1h45

Not an AllTrails member yet? We highly recommend signing up for either their free or paid membership plans. The free plan allows you to find new trails and plan routes but can only be used while hiking if you have access to mobile data. The paid membership plan (AllTrails+) allows you to download trail maps for offline use and provides live progress updates and off-route notifications.
If you are still uncertain – you should know that the All Trails mobile application was voted the 2023 iPhone App of the Year by Apple.

The Vintgar Gorge Walk From Bled

There are actually two different walks: 1) The walk from Bled to the Vintgar Gorge entrance, and 2) the walk from the Vintgar Gorge exit back to Bled.

The Walk from Bled to the Vintgar Gorge entrance

Distance: 4 km
Route Type: One-way
Elevation gain: 95 m

As we alluded to earlier this walk is fairly straightforward. You simply need to walk towards Podhom and then follow the signs along the way that direct you to the Gorge. Much of the walk is along the side of countryside roads on which there is little to no car traffic. In some areas there are sidewalks, but not along the full length of the path (at least it wasn’t the case when we walked to the gorge). The first half of the walk (see the Google Maps link above) is fairly flat, but there is some elevation (nothing too steep) during the second half of the walk.

Most of the walk takes place through scenic open countryside and farmlands.

The Walk from the Vintgar Gorge exit back to Bled

Distance: 4 km
Route Type: One-way
Elevation gain: -130 m

The return walk from the gorge exit is very different from the walk to the gorge entrance. In fact, the first portion of the walk is as it follows the first portion of the King of Triglav trail through a mix of forests and meadows. The paths divers once you come across the St Katerina Church.

From here, continue straight downhill towards the village of Zasip, and you will quickly be rewarded with beautiful panoramic views of the surrounding landscape.

You might even come across some goats as we did.

Hiking Packing List

All Trails subscription – This comes in really handy for areas with little or no cell reception, as the annual subscription allows you to download trail maps for offline use.
External Battery – If you are using your phone to track your progress along the trail or to help with navigation, you certainly don’t want your phone to die on you. That’s especially true in the unlikely event that you might get hurt or need assistance.
Hiking poles – These can be particularly useful in steep trails or muddy/boggy trail conditions.

Other Sights and Attractions Near Vintgar Gorge

Coming Soon

Where to Stay near Vintgar Gorge

Coming Soon

Photography Gear

If you like our photography, you might be interested in some of the gear we use to shoot our travel and hiking destinations.

Camera Body – Nikon Z 6ii Fx-series Mirrorless Body
Main Lens – NIKON 24-120mm F/4G ED VR AF-S
Zoom Lens – Sigma 745-306 150-600mm f/5-6.3
Polarizing filters – Urth Circular Polarizing (CPL)
Camera Tripod – K&F Concept 64-inch Camera Tripod
Mini-tripod – Lammcou Flexible Camera Tripod
Camera/hiking backpack – Vanguard Alta Rise 48 Backpack
Universal Travel Adapter – VYLEE Universal International Power Travel Plug

Other Travel Essentials

Travel Insurance
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e-Sim cards
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Car Rentals
Discover Cars is our go-to website for car rentals. We almost always find our preferred rate there.

Transfer from Airport
Welcome Pickups is our favourite private transfer service, which you can pre-book at a fixed price. Currently available in 220 cities all over the world (mostly in Europe, but with several major cities in Asia, the Middle East and the US).

Kiwitaxi is another private transfer service – we haven’t tried it yet, but it’s currently available in a few more countries (102 as of 2024).

Hotels and Accommodations (coming soon)

Photography Prints

If you found this blog useful, you can help support our blog by purchasing low-cost digital prints. Printed physical prints are also available for purchase.