The Soča Valley: which part belongs to the national park
Searches for the ‘Soča Valley’ often mean Bovec and rafting; the national park starts further up.
The Soča rises at the head of the Trenta from a cave with an underground lake and then flows through gorges it has cut into the limestone itself. The upper valley with the source, the Trenta and the Great Soča Gorge lies in Triglav National Park; the town of Bovec, starting point for most rafting trips, lies outside.
The Soča Trail, the national park's oldest nature trail, follows the river: about 25 km (15.5 mi) from the source to Bovec, over many suspension bridges, past the Mlinarica gorge, the Juliana Alpine Botanical Garden and the Dom Trenta information centre. You can walk each section on its own.
Boating is allowed in the park only on designated stretches: from 15 March to 31 October, at suitable water levels, launching from 9:00 and taking out by 18:00, and only below the Great Soča Gorge.
Triglavski narodni park: Soča Trail ↗
In numbers
- Soča Trail
- about 25 km (15.5 mi)
- Daily average at the Trenta counter
- 4,630 visits
- Great Soča Gorge
- 750 m long, up to 15 m (49 ft) deep
- Narrowest point
- banks 2 m (7 ft) apart
- Juliana Alpine Botanical Garden
- since 1926, May–September
- Vršič Pass
- 1,611 m (5,285 ft), 50 hairpin bends
- Boating season in the park
- 15 March to 31 October
