24
By Amelia Hanigan
2024-08-07T00:00:00.000Z • Slovenia

Deep into the Julian Alps | Veliko Ridge & Seven Lakes Valley

Two days in the Triglav National Park featuring one hell of a ridge-line 'Veliko Špičje', seven pristine alpine lakes, and an overnight stay in the 'Zasavska koča na Prehodavcih' mountain hut. This was a high-alpine, technically-difficult route that required serious stamina and scrambling. But the reward was well worth the effort: views of Mt Triglav, Soça valley, and all the way into Austria.

Hike
1
Hike

Blato to Zasavska koča na Prehodavcih via Veliko Špičje Ridge

The day begins gently, (savour it!) by meandering through mountain pastures, ancient shepherds huts, shady forests and the first lake, soundtracked by the gentle ringing of cowbells in the distance. This section looks and feels a little like a fairytale. We're on a slow incline and break out of the trees an hour or two into the route, and pass the next three lakes of the set!
In this section, you'll pass two mountain huts serving up drinks, snacks, vibes, and a drinking water fountain to fill up flasks. In August, the heat of the day was spicy so these pitstops were welcome.
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The old shepherd huts are adorable
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The second and third lakes in our collection. Gotta catch 'em all.

We peel off the seven lakes path and enter a very low-trafficked trail toward the peaks. The incline gets serious and doesn't stop until we reach the top. The environment changes rapidly as we gain altitude and we're treated to a series of wildflower species, then at the pointy end it's just limestone scree. At one point it gets too steep for poles and we switch to fixed-cabling, then switch to scrambling
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A very lightly trafficked path takes us higher and higher. We start to get a taste of what's to come in the views department
A mountain goat taunts us from the very top, I think I heard it laugh at our inferior two-legged struggles.
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Almost there. Jellybean lake appears in the valley below
Unbridled joy at the summit with views of the entire Julian alps. Triglav, Soca, even Austria in the distance. We couldn't stay for long as we had a fair way to go and the light was starting to drop and an approaching storm was quickly closing in.
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Triglav, Soca, even Austria in the distance. A few quick selfies document the joy.
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We can now see the other side of the valley, with Soça below.
What came next though was the coolest section of trail I've ever done. We traversed across the ridge along very narrow passages and rocky scree to finally make it to our hut for the night.
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I spy: a goat on our path in the distance
Arriving at the hut, we were greeted by people from all walks of life. A Slovenian family of four, older Spanish hikers playing cards and sketching the mountains, two younger girls equipped in the latest gorpcore, and a friendly American who misjudged the distance and came in well after dark.
The hut provided everything we needed. Food proved to be hearty and we even managed to snag a second helping at the close of the kitchen. Despite sleeping over 40 in one room, the dormitory was quiet, perhaps due to the hike being midweek. Whilst water was not available on site, a 15 minute walk to a nearby lake revealed a freezing mountain stream that doubled as an icy evening shower.
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Topping off the day at our hut with stew, a giant slice of bread and a delicious slice of cake.

2
Hike

Zasavska koča na Prehodavcih to Blato via the Seven Lakes Valley

Day two was all about the descent. With amazing views all through the morning, we saw a different side of the valley and hugged the edge of Mt Triglav. We walked past the kidney lake we'd seen from high up yesterday. Eventually the trail linked back up to the familiar lush green path.
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Crisp morning views
After the thrills of our ridgeline experience the previous day, our return journey was made sweeter by blue skies and yelping marmots. Spending more time at the smaller alpine villages, we trundled down the hill back towards the bus stop.
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Credit to for the route. Read their blog for more details