Bovec, The Soča Valley & Around

The “Emerald” Soča is a remarkably beautiful river valley with its source in the heart of the Triglav National Park and running down to the Italian Adriatic. The upper stretch of the valley runs through the beautiful Julian Alps and is a magnet for adventure sports lovers – offering an abundance of river activities (rafting, kayaking, canyoning) and mountain activities (plenty of excellent hiking, mountain-biking and skiing at Bovec Kanin, Slovenia’s highest ski resort, shortly to be connected to the Italian resort of Sella Nevea across the border). Bovec is the main town in the area, a charming little place with lots of good restaurants, bars and places to stay and a growing global reputation for adventure sports. Kobarid is the other main town of interest in the area, half an hour’s drive down the valley from Bovec, a small but beautiful town boasting some of Slovenia’s finest restaurants and a first class museum about the role of the town and the area as a major front in the 1st World War. Further down the valley is the spectacular Tolminska Korita (Tolmin gorge) and a pretty lake at Most na Soči. Following the Soča river from Tolmin southwards, the rugged peaks of the Julian Alps gradually give way to softer wooded sub-alpine hills, and the influence of the Adriatic and of neighbouring Italy becomes ever more apparent. The river itself remains the focus of the area but in its lower reaches the adrenalin sports of the north are replaced by more leisurely pursuits such as swimming and fly-fishing. East of Tolmin is the wonderful and wild Baška Grapa valley following the Bača river and south of Tolmin to Idrija runs the beautiful Idrijca river, both popular for fly-fishing and offering the possibility of swimming in the Summer.