IN Hiking , Hiking blog , Julian Alps

While I’m sure you’re better at maintaining quality-time contact with your parents on a regular basis, I must admit that hasn’t been my greatest priority the last couple of years {or a decade if I’m totally honest}. Nevertheless, yesterday I called my dad, to whom I also owe my first hiking memories, and invited him to some father-daughter bonding in the mountains. Sharing the same genes, he immediately dropped all other plans and readily agreed. The route I selected to fit my not-the-youngest-of-fathers? Viševnik. It’s one of the most easily accessible high peaks above Bled with stunning scenery and breathtaking views of the Julian Alps and Triglav.
Hiking Viševnik, Slovenia, above Bled

In case you haven’t heard of Viševnik yet, it’s the kind of hike you simply need to do if you’re here in Slovenia. It’s marked as an easy 1.5-hour walk with about 750-meter ascent and finishes at 2,050 meters. The views from the top? Stunning! Viševnik is one of those totally scenic mountains that get you by surprise. During the hike the views are ok, but once you reach the top it’s like you’ve entered another world. Triglav, Slovenia’s highest mountain, being literally just a few steps away, starts your mind overflowning with crazy superhero ideas never to return back down again but to simply continue hiking forever and become one with the mountains {or was that just me?!}.
Hiking Viševnik, a beautiful mountain above Bled
Enjoying the views from Viševnik

A trail to the top of Viševnik follows the ridgeline
Green and grey separated by the long ridge of the Viševnik mountain.

Alpine chough in the mountains
Guess who was into food sharing on the way to Viševnik? This greedy little fellow joined us as soon as we unwrapped our sandwiches.

Anyway, starting from the family sports center Rudno Polje above Bled, the trail first winds through a forest, then enters old ski slopes, and once over the first quite mundane section, the hike gets more and more interesting entering the scenic section above the ski slopes. If we took the classic way up, you can also follow a more adventurous route to Viševnik that branches off to the right at the only trail crossing above ex-ski slopes. The classic route did fine for us, though, and by progressing at my dad’s pace we arrived at the top about 2 hours later.

Viševnik, Julian Alps
About half of the hikers we met yesterday were foreign visitors, among them a couple from South Africa. Nice, huh?!

Triglav as seen from Viševnik
Recognize the big one?

Julian Alps, Slovenia
How was the bonding, you wonder? Walking at a leisurely pace and chatting with my dad while surrounded by spectacular beauty made this hike one of the nicest hikes I’d had in years. Not exaggerating. And this confirms my long-held theory; hiking makes a great activity for bonding. Either with your family, friends, colleagues or business partners, mountains will bring you closer together. Period. In an environment with practically no commitment and pressure you’ll experience more fun and enjoyment.
All that is to say is that you pick up your phone and invite your parents, partner or friends to the mountains tomorrow and have a hell of a good time together. Trust me, it works!
Hiking to Mt. Viševnik with my dad
Stay tuned for more outdoor adventures! Join seventy thousand Exploring Slovenia fans by liking us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. If you enjoyed this story, sign up for the monthly exploringslovenia.com/blog newsletter. A handful selection of stories from Hiking and Climbing in Slovenia, delivered to your inbox every month.

Get posts to your mailbox

Loading

Categories

1 thought on “The most beautiful mountain for everyone: Viševnik

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

× How can I help you?