The Top 10 Activities in Lake Bled for 2023
Lake Brad is one of the most beautiful destinations I have ever visited in Central Europe. Located between the Julian Alps, Lake Brad is one of the many lakes in the region. It provides a large number of outdoor and indoor activities, from hiking and swimming to visiting historical sites and indulging in local cuisine.
In this guide, you will find a complete list of the best activities in Lake Brad and all the information you need to spend a good time in this wonderful place. After all, here are 10 good deeds done in Lake Brad.
10 best things to do in Lake Brad
Explore Brad Castle
When you arrive at Brad, the first thing you see is Brad Castle, a medieval fortress in the 11th century, built on the top of the cliff, overlooking the whole town and lake. It is one of the most popular landmarks here, and you should never miss it.
Due to its impressive location, Brad Castle provides an undisturbed lake and its surrounding scenery, as well as a museum displaying the castle’s history and cultural relics.
The castle is not big, only a few museums and cafes and restaurants scattered in the castle yard. To your surprise, you can see a 180 ° panoramic view above. From here, you can see the whole Brad Lake and all the lakeside towns and surrounding scenery.
There are several ways to get to Brad Castle. The best way is to walk through the parish church of St. Martina from the town. Before you reach the parking lot of the castle, walk up along the dirt road. This should take about 10 minutes. Most of the time you will be in the shade.
You can also drive all the way to Brad Castle and park your car in the designated parking lot of the castle. There are a lot of parking spaces here, so you should have no problem driving up.
Unfortunately, if you want to get the best view of Brad Lake from Brad Castle, you must pay the admission fee. The ticket of the castle
should be about 13 euros per person, and the castle is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day. The sunset here is also quite magical, so please make sure your visit plan is appropriate.
Walk to Mala Osojnica Scenic Spot
One of the highlights of the activities you can do in Lake Brad is hiking, and one of the best hiking routes that can see the incredible scenery on the lake is Mala Osojnica. This hiking route will take you to the top of the mountain, so that you can see the full view of the lake from above, without driving an unmanned aerial vehicle.
Walking on Mala Osojnica is definitely the highlight of my trip to Lake Brad. The hiking starts from the Mala Osojnica trail. You can easily get there from Brad along the lakeside walkway. It should take about 30 minutes of leisure walk before you reach the footpath.
From the crossing to the Mala Osojnica scenic spot is a straight and steep climb, which should take up to 30 minutes. This path is mostly dirt. Before you reach the scenic spot, there are some steep rope sections and wooden stairs.
Mala Osojnica is the highest scenic spot of all three scenic spots in the mountain. Among all the scenic spots here, it can give you the best view of Lake Brad.
It is also one of the best places to watch the sunrise of Lake Brad. If you have time, I strongly recommend you to watch it. Just make sure to calculate your walking time carefully, because it takes about 1 hour to walk all the way from Brad Town to the scenic spots.
From Mala Osojnica, you can also walk to the other two scenic spots (Ojstrica and Velika Osojnica), because they are connected by dirt roads and narrow roads.
I personally think that Mala Osojnica and Ojstrica (we will discuss later) provide the best view of Lake Brad. Mala Osojnica allows you to see the vast lake, while Ojstrica allows you to see the lake and the church in the center of the lake more closely.
Sitting on the love bench in Oysterica scenic spot
As mentioned earlier, Ojstrica Scenic Spot is another excellent scenic spot that you should go to on foot. You can have a closer view of Lake Brad and the church in the center of the lake.
Starting from Mala Osojnica, it should take about 20 minutes to reach the Ojstrica scenic spot, or you can walk all the way from the town of Velika Zaka at the west end of Lake Brad, which is about the same time.
In Oysterica, you will see the lake water closer to you, and there is no metal fence to block your view, making it a better place to photograph you and the lake water than from Mala Osojnica.
There is also a beautiful wooden bench in Ojstrica, where you can sit down, relax and enjoy the incredible scenery of the lake. I stayed there for about 30 minutes, and no one showed up. This is great.
Once you are finished, you can continue to hike to Velika Osojnica, or you can go down to Velika Zaka, which is a quieter and less crowded place. You can relax and swim for several hours before returning to Brad.
Walk around the whole lake
If you are not so keen on hiking, but you still want to do some activities, you can also choose to take a leisure walk around the lake from Brad to Vilika-Zaka and then to Brad.
It is incredible to see the scenery from this road, especially in the morning, when not many people come out, the geese and birds come out. It is so quiet and peaceful here that it is hard to imagine anything better than walking around the lake in the morning.
The total length of the walk around the lake is about 5.6 kilometers (about 3.5 miles), which should take 1-2 hours to complete. There are several walking paths that will take you through the boardwalk by the lake, far away from the traffic road, which is very good.
There are countless things to see and do along the way. You will pass the beautiful town of Jezero, and have the opportunity to hike to Mara-Osoinica, or swim or kayak at Vilika-Zaka or anywhere near the lake.
This path is very well built. You can almost see everything in Lake Brad at a glance. If you have a few hours and the weather is good outside, you will like it.
Kayaking or swimming in the lake
Another good way to spend time in Lake Brad is to rent a kayak or go swimming in the lake. Unfortunately, you can’t swim as you like, because you are only allowed to swim in designated swimming areas, which are mostly located near towns and tourist attractions.
After spending several days exploring the lake area, I found that if you walk to Velika Zaka on the other side of the lake, you will find a quieter and more peaceful swimming spot than the east side of the lake.
There are few people on this side of the lake, especially in the morning. You will like it better. I found the east side of Lake Brad too crowded. I don’t like it.
You can also rent a canoe or kayak to explore the lake as you think fit. There are several places in the lake that can be rented, about 20 euros an hour, and 10 euros an hour more. If you want to stay away from tourists and spend your day on the lake, this is a good way.
Take a boat to visit the Ascension Church of the Virgin
One of the most famous landmarks of Lake Brad is the church on an island in the middle of the lake. This is the Church of the Ascension of the Virgin. You can rent a canoe to visit, or take the Pletna boat to and from.
The cost of renting a canoe is about 20 euros per hour, and 10 euros per additional hour. The mooring hole of the canoe is at the north end of the island.
You can also take the Plata boat from the Plata boat dock, about 15 euros back and forth, and you have about 40 minutes on the island.
The island and the church are not very big. You should be able to see everything in 40 minutes. You also need to pay about 12 euros per person, including everything from the church to the tower. The Plata ship operates from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day.
Explore Wintega Canyon
Ventega Canyon is another highlight of visiting Lake Brad. The canyon is a 1.6 kilometer long canyon, carved by the powerful Radovna River in the magnificent vertical walls of the Hom and Borscht Mountains.
Along the canyon, you will find a lot of beautiful cliffs, rushing waterfalls, and a beautiful walking path on the wooden bridge that runs through the whole canyon, which will take you to the 13-meter-high Sume River Falls.
The hiking tour around Ventega Canyon is one of the highlights of the tour of Lake Brad. You can easily spend 2-3 hours walking the whole canyon and spend some time relaxing beside the waterfall.
The canyon is about 4 kilometers away from Brad. In order to get there, you must take the shuttle bus from Brad. There is a shuttle bus service operated by Mamut Slovenian company. It costs about 10 euros per person to commute from Brad Bus Station to Vitega Valley every hour.
Through the shuttle bus, you will have about 2 hours to walk the canyon, and the shuttle bus will pick you up at the end of the path within 2.5 hours after departure.
This is the simplest and most direct way to visit the canyon. I strongly recommend you do it. Please make sure to book a time period on their website in advance. These hours will be booked out soon, especially in summer.
One-day tour of Boxin Lake
Lake Bocini is another incredible sight near Lake Brad. It is about 24 kilometers away from Brad and can be easily reached by the hourly bus connecting the two places.
Lake Bocini is closer to the Julian Alps than Lake Brad. Here you will feel that you are in a small town beside a mountain lake, not Lake Brad. The lake is surrounded by beautiful Alpine peaks, providing a lot of exploration opportunities for hikers and adventurers.
If you think the water in Lake Brad is beautiful, wait to see how bright the water is. The water is clear and very attractive. You can also rent a canoe or canoe here, or you can spend a whole day swimming and basking in the sun.
It is not as crowded as Lake Brad, and it is a little small and not so busy. Therefore, if you are looking for a place far away from Lake Brad to spend a day or two, Lake Boshing is a good choice.
There, you must also visit Cerkev Sv. Janeza Krstnika church, and climb the bell tower to enjoy the incredible scenery on the lake. From here, you can see how vast the scenery around Boxin Lake is.
To get from Brad to Boshing Lake, you must take the bus at Brad Bus Station, which runs every hour from 7:15 a.m. to 10:20 p.m. You can see the latest bus timetable and bus tickets directly at Brad Bus Station. The bus is operated by Arriva Company. Due to traffic reasons, it is sometimes late, so please don’t feel nervous when the bus doesn’t arrive on time.
Taste the delicious Brad cream cake
Here, one of the most delicious local cakes you must try is the coveted Brad cream cake, which is available in Cafe Peglez ‘n of other cafes and restaurants around Brad Lake.
The special feature of Brad’s cream cake is the number of layers that make up the cake. From the bottom, you will find that the delicious golden crispy skin is made of butter dough, then a large piece of soft and delicious vanilla cream and whipped cream, and finally another layer of crispy skin and sprinkled with a layer of rock sugar.
The combination of these levels creates some of the most delicious cakes you will try in a year. Cafe Peglez’n is a small and lovely outdoor cafe near Brad Castle, which provides quite good Brad cake, delicious coffee and beer. It is a good place to stop after a day’s hiking around Brad Lake.
Taste local food at Central Brad Restaurant
Last but not least, if you are looking for a restaurant to try some local food, I strongly recommend you go to Central Brad Restaurant, a popular local restaurant located in the center of the town, which provides some delicious dishes using local products, such as Cevapci, steak and Slovenian sausage.
The price is a little expensive, but you know your money is worth it here. The restaurant is open from 12 noon to 10 p.m. every day. At dinner time, they will become very crowded, so if you want to make sure there is a table, you must get there in advance.
This is a complete list of the best things you have done in Lake Brad. Do you plan to visit this beautiful natural scenic spot soon? If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask me in the comments below.
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