Vršič Pass

Saturday May 6, 2017
Heading toward Bovec via the Vršič Pass, we took a small offshoot road at Mojstrama up the Vrata Valley toward Mt. Triglav which, at 2864 meters, is Slovenia's tallest and treasured mountain. Leading up to Triglav's north face, this 10K road is a popular starting point for the multiday climb of Triglav, something most Slovenians are proud and compelled to do at least once in their lifetime. This however, is as close to Triglav as we are going to get!

Along the way, we stopped to hike Slap Peričnik, a waterfall pouring over the cliff face. There is something magical about walking behind a waterfall and looking out!

Toward the pass, the beautiful Russian Orthodox chapel honors those Russian POWs that build this road and lost their lives in the process.

By the time we reached the Vršič our beautiful sunny day had turned cloudly - so it goes in the Julian Alps. Nevertheless, the view was glorious and hopefully the panorama shows the two distinct valleys - the sharply cut Soča valley on the left (behind the tree) carved by the Soča River, and the more U-shaped Trenta Valley on the right, gouged by a glacier.

This road, with a total of 50 numbered hairpin turns, continues down into the Soča valley. At #49, we stopped to hike to the source of the Soča.