Slap Savica Waterfall

Slap Savica is among the most celebrated waterfalls in Slovenia, tucked into a rocky amphitheatre at the head of the Bohinj valley, a few kilometres beyond the western end of Lake Bohinj. The water drops about seventy-eight metres in two streams that join at the base, which is why it is often compared to the shape of the letter A. It emerges from a cave system high in the cliff of Komarča, and it is one of the main sources feeding Lake Bohinj; the lake's outflow is the Sava Bohinjka, which meets the Sava Dolinka near Radovljica to form the Sava, the longest river in Slovenia.

The waterfall has deep cultural significance. It is the setting of France Prešeren's epic poem The Baptism on the Savica, written in 1836, which is among the most important works in Slovene literature. Folk stories also tie the area to Zlatorog, the golden-horned chamois that guards the high mountains. Many Slovenes make a pilgrimage here at least once, and the waterfall appears in paintings and travel writing from the nineteenth century onward.

The walk to the falls starts at a car park near Ukanc, where the Koča pri Savici hut provides food and drink. From there, a well-made path with several hundred steps climbs through beech forest for about twenty minutes, and the final viewing platform sits close to the pool at the foot of the cliff. The spray cools the air, and in spring and after rain the noise and the mist are impressive. In a dry late summer the flow is thinner, but the setting remains attractive. Shoes with a good grip are advisable, because the steps and stones can be wet.

Savica works well as part of a day around Lake Bohinj. Visitors can combine it with a Boat ride across Lake Bohinj, a walk to Ribcev Laz and the Church of St John the Baptist at the lake's eastern edge, or a ride on the Vogel cable car for a view from above. The Mostnica Gorge and Vogar viewpoint offer other excursions. Visiting early in the morning or late in the afternoon brings a quieter experience, and the area lies within Triglav National Park, so the usual rules of care for the mountain environment apply.