Pokljuka gorge
The Pokljuka Gorge is located on the north-eastern side of the Pokljuka Plateau. Signs in Krnica direct us towards it (the road to Pokljuka), and a narrow road will lead us in a few 100 meters to a well-maintained parking lot at the beginning of the gorge.
The Pokljuka gorge is dry today, which means that no stream or river flows through it. It was formed by water during the last ice age, which flowed from the melting glaciers on Pokljuka. Later, the water retreated underground and today the gorge is full of interesting karst phenomena left behind by the water.
| Pokljuka gorge | Basic information |
|---|---|
| The highest point of the gorge | 850 m |
| Starting height | 660 m |
| Height difference along the way | 200 m |
| Time to see the gorge | 1 h 30 min |
| Difficulty of the route | easy |
| The starting point | Krnica (46.3789, 14.0417) |
| Parking fee | no |
| Recommended gear | sports hiking shoes and hiking poles |
| Suitable for dogs | yes |
The beginning of the gorge is quite “normal”, you start climbing along the path into an extremely beautiful, airy forest, and after about 10 minutes of walking, you are suddenly surrounded by very high vertical walls. According to my estimate, the walls are about 50 meters high, maybe more. Soon we find ourselves in front of the first information board, which directs us to a circular route through the gorge. If you go to the right, you will walk for a few meters through a hole, a short passage cave with 3 more natural windows, which once served as the closest passage from the valley to the Pokljuka plateau.
A few minutes’ ascent will bring you to an extremely beautiful and dense beech forest, which is practically devoid of undergrowth. The path will take you along the path for a while and a little later along the train, you will also come to a few intersections where, in my opinion, the signs are somewhat clumsily marked, but nothing happens, you just continue walking in the direction of the gallery. You will soon reach the former riverbed, where the forest has a magical appearance. It’s like you’re walking into a primeval forest, the fallen trees are covered with a thick layer of moss, the rocks are also covered in it, the air is full of moisture… something really special.
From here, we will start descending towards our starting point along the bottom of the gorge. The bottom of the gorge is mostly overgrown with fern, which is extremely beautiful in late spring, when it starts to grow well. After a few minutes of walking along the bottom of the gorge, we will again be surrounded by extremely high overhanging walls, in which the water has hollowed out various holes, undercuts…
Soon the path will lead us to the most fascinating part of the gorge for me, a narrow canyon (if you are claustrophobic, it might be interesting), through which a wooden footbridge takes us, with steps, at the other end of which, at the narrowest part, only about a meter wide “crack” and a huge gallery opens below us, which the locals named after Andrej Karadjordjević from Kraljevic. The royal family often visited these places between the two wars, when the locals also arranged a path through the gorge. because they had their own holiday village on Mežakla.
From here, towards the intersection where we went right through the hole before, the gorge widens a few more times and narrows completely again. On the way down, don’t just pay attention to what nature has left behind around you, because in this part you will walk under the natural bridge, which is the 3rd major natural attraction of this gorge. A natural bridge crosses the gorge 24 meters above the ground. It’s incredible how wild the water must have been here to carve into the rock everything that is on display for us today.
Conclusion
If you are looking for more ideas for trips around Bled, I advise you to look at the article entitled Trips around Bled, and if you would like to see some of the wonderful sights in Bohinj, Mojstrana, and Vrata valley, Kranjska Gora, Jezersko or Tržič, but one of the mentioned blogs will have to be reviewed.
I wish you a nice day and let’s go to nature!
