A lake sorrounded by snow clad Julian Alps, a hill top castle, a small island, traditional Plenta boats, bell ringing in the background at every hour. The whole setup says something. It compells you to explore the place more and more.
We explored Bled lake on our recent trip to Eastern Europe. We landed in ljubiana and decided to drive to Bled. In half an drive we were at Bled lake however finding a parking was a big deal there, there were no proper signs and direction to the parking spots. After almost 45mins of struggle, we could find a parking spot.
First glimpse of lake disappointed us a bit as we found it to be like any other lake. After exploring a bit, my whole perspective about the place changed n if you wanna know how please read the full article ;) and also I am going to share how we can spend a day at Bled lake.
1) Click a picture with heart sign at Bled lake
We started from the east side of the lake which was 2 mins walk from our car parking spot.First impression of the lake wasn't that great except the heart sign standing in the background of Bled lake and complimenting its beauty. Heart sign represents Slovenia as it's the only country in the world which has "love" word in it and backdrop of mountains and serene lake gives it a perfect quick selfie spot. In summers, you might have to wait a bit if you want a picture but since we were there in off season, It wasn't much crowded.
Hike or cycle around the lake
If you are starting from east side of the lake, you might have to hike towards the west side to get some of the best views.View becomes better and better with every step and you cant resist yourself without having clicked lots of photos.
There are cycling and hiking path around the lake which is about 6-7kms. Hiking is fairly easy as its mostly plain walk and can be easily done in 2 hours.
Hike to perfect view spot - Ojstrica
Best view of the lake is from Ojstrica which is at about 600 meters.Hike to Ojstrcia is not much in distance however it is a bit steep and can be very slippery during rainy season. Wearing hiking shoes is highly recommended.
Hike towards the west side of the lake, continue for about 2kms and take left. There are no proper signs, so take help from google or check with locals. They would be more than happy to help and guide you.
Hike to Ojstrica must be in your list when you are at Bled lake otherwise you will miss one of the best view you will ever see in your life.
Other important information
Around Bled lake, we struggled a bit finding directions as there was no proper sign boards.
So please don't hesitate to take help from locals and also keep google map handy.
Finding car parking also wasn't so easy. There are many hotels around the lake but they allow parking only for their guests however Hotel krim provides parking to visitors and charges 2euro an hour. Please note that no debit/credit card is accepated and only coins are acceptable. Good thing about hotel krim parking is that east side of the lake is at 2 mins walking distance.
Another parking spot, you can find is around information centre but you will have to walk a bit to reach bled lake.Cafes around lake are overly priced during peak season.
Ljubljana to Bled lake by car
Ljubljana to Bled lake by car takes approimately 40 mins. Take A2 highway and follow the direction for "Kranj". We rented car from http://www.avantcar.si/
Please keep in mind that in Slovenia, its standard that the car rental companies block the security amount(1200Euro in our case) for a month.
Comments