Springs
The thermal springs that lead into the swimming pool at the
Grand Hotel Toplice enable pleasant swimming and successful
treatment of stress-related illnesses, exhaustion, neuro-vegetative
disorders and age-related fatigue. Analyses of the thermal
water at the Grand Hotel Toplice show the temperature of the spring
to be constant at 23°C. The breakdown of the analyses show that 10
litres of water contain 1520cm3 of free carbonic acid and 5.36g of
naturally occurring salts.
Bled Island
The only natural island in Slovenia is situated on Lake Bled.
The island has several buildings, the main one being the Pilgrimage
Church of the Assumption of Mary (Slovenian: Cerkev Marijinega
Vnebovzetja), built in the 15th century. The church has a 171-foot
(52-metre) tower and there is a stairway with 99 steps leading up
to the building. The lake is also well known among rowers since it
has good conditions for the sport. It hosted the World Rowing
Championships in 1966, 1979, 1989 and most recently in August and
September 2011.
Osojnica
Take a winding trail from Velika Zaka to Mala Osojnica (2,247
feet or 685 metres). This peak offers the finest view of Lake Bled
and its outlying areas, with the Karavanke, the Kamnik Alps and the
Gorenjsko plain in the distance. This is one of the favourite
viewpoints for photographers. All the well-known panoramas of Bled
have been shot from there. Another 20 minutes of walking separates
us from the top of Velika Osojnica (2,480 feet or 756 metres),
affording an even more sweeping view than Mala Osojnica.
The cave under "Babji zob"
Babji zob or 'Hag's tooth' is an outlooking point above the
village Kupljenik near Bled. This approximately 984-feet
(300-metre) long cave is adorned with beautiful stalactite
formations. A special feature of this cave is spiral stalactites,
so-called helectites, and large calcite crystals, which are rare in
Slovenia. The tradition of visiting this cave dates back to the
19th century and has continued to the present day through the Bled
Society for Cave Research. The Society has arranged paths and
electrical lighting to enable safe access to the cave.
The "Iglica" waterfall
In the abyss caves of Iglica, just above Bohinjska Bela, hides a
59-feet (18-metre) high waterfall on the Suha stream. It falls over
a vertical wall of Permian limestone. In the village there is a
signpost to the waterfall. The access is very easy.
Vintgar Gorge
The mile (1.6 kilometre) long Vintgar Gorge carves its way
through the vertical rocks of the Hom and Bort hills and is graced
by the Radovna, with its waterfalls and pools. Set in the immediate
vicinity of Gorje, the ravine is approximately 2.5 miles (4
kilometres) north-west of Bled.
Julian Alps
The Julian Alps (Slovene: Julijske Alpe, Italian: Alpi Giulie)
are a mountain range of the Southern Limestone Alps that stretches
from north-eastern Italy to Slovenia, where they rise to 9,396 feet
(2,864 metres) at the Triglav mountain. They are named after Julius
Caesar, who founded the municipium of Cividale del Friuli at the
foot of the mountains. A large part of the Julian Alps is included
in the Triglav National Park.
The Triglav National Park
The only national park in Slovenia, lies in the immediate
vicinity of Lake Bled. The territory of the National Park is
very picturesque and varied. The highest mountain in Slovenia,
Triglav, after which the park was named, lies in its centre. From
Triglav, deep and sharply cut valleys, mainly of glacial origin,
open on all sides in the form of a fan. The valleys and plateaux
are covered by a carpet of green forests and meadows. Bold, high
pointed mountain peaks rise above them, with dark and deep abysses.
Clear mountain streams and small rivers run in the numerous gorges
and beautiful ravines and troughs (Vintgar, Mlinarica, Mostnica)
and flow into two larger rivers, the Sava and the Soca.