What Can I Do In The River Soca and Its Valley?

Soca and its valley are the perfect wonderlands for people who love nature and picturesque spots. With its green emerald transparent water, it is considered as one of the most beautiful rivers in Europe.

Moreover, here are a lot of things to do and a lot of attractive landscapes to see. Among them are exploring picturesque Bovec, Kobarid, Tolmin towns, a number of waterfalls, fly fishing, a ride on the old train museum, zip-lining, water rafting, and many others.

The river flows through rocky hills, big and small waterfalls, canyons, and pools. Moreover, it became a place of the largest mountain battle of World War I. Therefore, this place has everything for providing an unforgettable experience to anyone who visits it.

General Briefing

The Soča River is one of the most beautiful natural tourist attractions of Slovenia. The river turns emerald green in its color. Moreover, it is very rare for such a long river to have this unique color throughout its length. In general, it is 138-kilometer (86 mi) long, whereas 96 kilometers (60 mi) flows in western Slovenia and 43 kilometers (27 mi) through northeastern Italy, where it is named as Isonzo in the Italian language.

On the other hand, it was named as Aesontius, Isontius, Sontius in antiquity. Even there were variations like Sontium, flumine Isontio, Lisonçum, die Ysnicz, and an der Snicz.

The river starts at the height of 876 meters and crosses such Slovenian cities and villages as Bovec, Kobarid, Tolmin, Kanal ob Soči, Nova Gorica, and after that, falls into the Adriatic Sea. It is well-known for the variety of unique trout species Salmo marmoratus, the best known are the marble trout.

Furthermore, it is the place of Simon Gregorčič to dedicate his famous poem Soči (To Soča). It became a scene of 12 battles between the Kingdom of Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, from June 1915 till November 1917, culminating in the Battle of Caporetto in 1917. Afterward, the river became the place of Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian filming. It is Disney’s movie of 2008 on the famous novel.

Must-See Attractions

Soca River as well as its valley is the first destination in Slovenia to achieve the European Destination of Excellence (EDEN) award. This one is given only to places with the sustainable development of tourism. Therefore, this place has a lot to show.

Bovec Town

It is the very first town under the Triglav mountain. Moreover, this is the one place where it’s located the source of the River Soča, which is the picturesque place itself. The surrounding areas are full of natural landscape pearls, such as the Boka Waterfall, with highest water flow in Slovenia that reaches 144 m of height, The Trenta Valley, which is the heart of the Triglav National Park, and Lake Krn, that is the largest high-elevation mountain lake in the country.

Here you also can try the famous cheese made from the milk of the endemic Bovec sheep for this territory.

Kobarid Town

This town is considered as the place of remembrance of World War I. Here it happened the warfare scene of the biggest mountain battle in human history. Therefore, you can visit the Kobarid Museum in order to dig deep inside world history as well as the Slovenian one experiencing the place by the tips of your fingers.

Here you can also find the Napoleon Bridge, the Kozjak Waterfall, and its pool, and the most interesting part, the Cheese-Making Museum.

Aside from that, Kobarid is the place of location of a number of world-class restaurants as well as the Festival Festival in October.

Tolmin

It got an award of the world’s Alpine town of 2016. Furthermore, it is the largest town in the Soca valley. It is already worth seeing. Around the city, you can find the Tolmin Gorges, the lowest entry point to the Triglav National Park, with Javorca nearby and its famous wooden church. It was awarded the European Cultural Heritage label as one of the most beautiful World War I memorials.

Tolmin is also a town of festivals. Throughout the year, you will find Metaldays, Overjam International Reggae Days, Sajeta, Punk Rock Holidays, and some others.

Mangart Saddle

This is the highest asphalt road in Slovenia. It lies at the height of 2072 meters. Therefore, driving a car there is definitely an experience. First of all, there is a strong wind. Secondly, the 12-kilometer road goes through 5 tunnels and 17 sharp turns.

The road was built in 1938 by the Italian army. Here you can find a beautiful view on Mangart Lakes and see such distinct fauna and flora for this region like marmots, choughs, and sheep. Moreover, despite the complicated way of riding here, this place is the annual spot for the Mangart Bike Race that happens here every August.

Boka Waterfall

This one is situated not so far from Bovec. It is 106 meters high and is considered as one of the most magnificent waterfalls in Europe. It is well-known as the most powerful waterfall in Slovenia. On rainy days, the flow can reach up to 100 cubic meters per second. Incredible speed!

Things Must Do

Fly Fishing

This is the only form of fishing permitted in these areas. Also, the River Soca is the perfect destination if you are a fan of this kind of activity. The reviews from experts and fishers are highly satisfactory. The main achievement to reach here is to catch the indigenous Soča trout. And don’t forget to release your catch in the end!

Take a Journey on Hogwarts-like Train

It is really similar to that one described in Joan Rowling’s book. Maybe, one day he traveled to Slovenia and was inspired by it. This is the museum train that can take you from Bohinj and ride through historical tunnels and picturesque bridges near beautiful landscapes. The trip lasts around two hours.

Water Rafting

Experts say that the water is perfect in the Soca River for this kind of activity. Therefore, you can enjoy the unique emerald green color, not only looking at it by boating there as well.

Zip Lining

Soca Valley is the place of many canyons. Thus, people started to do zip lining here, providing an unforgettable experience. The speed you can achieve here is 40 km/h, and the line is up to 50 or 60 meters over the ground. This can be scary, but definitely worth it.

Many Hiring Traces

The best is to visit the lowest point of the Soca Valley, the Tolminka Gorge, and after that, go to the Tolmin town itself. Also, the must-visit is Slap Kozjak waterfall, especially on hot days, when you can even swim in the nearby rivers or take a picnic with you and enjoy the perfect landscapes.

Paragliding

The perfect time for it is the Soca Outdoor Festival because it provides a paragliding competition when hundreds of paragliders jump on that day. If you are not a fan of such extreme activities, you can watch them because it is eye-catching as well.

Mountain Biking

Usually, a lot of locals ride their bikes in the neighborhood areas of Tolmin and Kobarid. You can rent a bike here as well. However, for the lovers of extremes, the Soca Outdoor Festival provides the mountain bike competition also, where serious professionals dominate their bikes and do amazing tricks. Worth to see!

Also, you can find here such activities as:

• Climbing & Bouldering
• Bungee Jumping
• Canyoning
• Skydiving
• Stand Up Paddle

Soca Valley: a World to Experience

Soca River and its Valley is the perfect destination for those who want to experience the beauty of the Slovenian nature. Apparently, it is the place where all the wonders met up, hence a lot of activities are gathered in a small area.

First of all, it is suitable for both people who like passive experience and active one. For the first ones, nature created amazing landscapes, canyons, mounts lakes, and so on. Everything you need is a good mood. You can go to the mentioned above towns, learn their history, museums, and breathe the cleanest air in your life. Furthermore, you can take a mountain bike to explore nearby areas faster.

For lovers of a more active style of traveling, the Soca valley opens its entire beauty. Nature created hiking trails for hiking experts, lakes for people who are not afraid of cold mountain water, canyons for those whose fear is not a fear of heights. Moreover, tourism is so developed here that you can find any kind of even more extreme activities. The best option in such a case would be attending the Soca Outdoor Festival, where all these will be gathered just in one place.

This place is giving even the reason to visit it for music lovers. The Tolmin town gives place to the location to such music festivals as Metaldays, Overjam International Reggae Days, Sajeta, Punk Rock Holidays, and many others. Therefore, why not experience nature with good music?

Thus, choose your own way and do your first step to visiting Soca River and its valley!