Postcards from Slovenia #31: Mala Osojnica

Mala Osojnica is a bluff on the eastern face of a larger hill, Velika Osojnica, overlooking Lake Bled. Its modest height, at least in Alpine terms (645m, or 2116 ft above sea level), makes it an ‘easy’ walk from the lake shore and a fantastic viewpoint over the lake to the Karavanke Alps and the Jelovica plateau. I put the ‘easy’ in inverted commas because I always thought it would be. It’s actually somewhat steep and exposed. It’s by no means a tough walk but you will need proper shoes and extra care needs to be taken in bad weather (I wouldn’t recommend the walk in bad weather as this would defeat the object of walking to a viewpoint).

The Route

There is a small car park on the eastern shore of the Lake just past the rowing boat hire station. From the roadside, a footpath is signposted ‘Mala Osojnica, 30 min.’ The trail leads through an open field with a semi-derelict house standing in it, to continue into woodland where it rises steeply over tree roots and exposed rocks, winding up the hillside with one exposed section secured by wire. This is nowhere near as exposed as the ascent to Črno Jezero via Komarca cliff, but I’m still glad I didn’t bring the kids as it is not a place to mess around with youngsters.

Once you pass the wire, the route continues up a near-vertical steel ladder with 88 steps. Not a good one for vertigo sufferers, but it did seem to be held firmly in place! Soon after this climb, you will emerge at the viewpoint with a seat and an information panel detailing the sights visible from this point.

The descent

I didn’t continue to Velika Osojnica (the summit) as the top is covered by forest so there is no viewpoint, and evening was drawing in. I certainly didn’t fancy descending the ladder in the dark. If you don’t like heights, the descent may seem a little daunting, but it isn’t difficult. I concentrated on counting the steps on the way down. I say ‘steps’ not ‘rungs’ because it wasn’t (quite) a vertical ladder.

There are breaks in the trees which afford fine views over the lake on the way down. It was a delightful place to take in a dose of autumn colour. With covid closing borders once again, who knows when anyone reading this will have a chance to visit. Take comfort in the fact that the lake, the mountains (and even the terrifying ladder) do not appear to be going anywhere anytime soon!

I hope you enjoyed this walk up to Mala Osojnica. Stay tuned for more Postcards from Slovenia and follow the tag to make sure you don’t miss out! You can find more images from this walk on Instagram @experimentsinficition.

Srecno pot!
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