Hobbits on the loose at Kozjak Falls!

One of our favourite places in Slovenia is the amazing Kozjak waterfall (Slap), not just for being the best waterfall in Slovenia, (which is saying something), but also for the beautiful, long, stony path that leads you there.

We have visited this Slovenian natural wonder in all seasons and weather, but this particular adventure on a sunny early November day was quite peculiar indeed!

    walk to kozjak falls in the autumn    kojak falls in heavy water

The main path was at it's stunning best as we walked from the car park into the forest, surrounded by Alpine mountains and then the uberstunning turquoise colour of the Soca river running alongside. But as we got closer to the Hobbit bridges we saw to our surprise that rocks that usually form the path between these bridges were submerged in water. We have been here when there was almost no water, some water and plenty of water, but never seen this before, the path had become part of the river!

The closer you get to the falls, the more "Lord of the Rings" it gets, with stunning jagged rock walls covered in green moss and ferns, just like an imaginary world and then finally, those 2 little wooden Hobbit bridges to cross at the end. Delightful.

There had been quite a lot of rain the previous few days and the water flow had well and truly reached Kozjak from higher up in the Alps by now, so the waterfall was raging and pouring torrents of crystal clear icy cold water down the river and into the Soca river.

    hobbit path to kozjak in green slovenia    hobbits in slovenia

It was then we saw our first Hobbit, a young lady who was returning from the viewing platform and had taken her shoes and socks off to wade through the water to get to the waterfall.

We took courage from her spirit and were inspired to take off our shoes and socks as well until there were 4 more hobbits standing there. And off we went, at first tip toeing and then taking larger steps on our unexpected journey!

The water was actually not that cold when you kept going and it was really great fun being a hobbit and grabbing the steel cable rope to haul ourselves onto the thin stone outcrops at side of the rock valley, above the raging river and climbing the last little bit onto the wooden boardwalk that goes around that magical corner.. all the time accompanied by a thunderous natural water symphony.

And then it's just you and that first spectacular view of the waterfall.. freezing cold tootsies are all forgotten. We can never get tired of seeing this amazing waterfall and the huge rock pool in front, but you always have to leave here at some time and so us Hobbits paddled back to terra firma, inspiring another couple who had just arrived at the bridges to "go hobbit".

    steel cable rope to kozjak falls    water bridge to kozjak waterfall

It was really good fun being a hobbit for a while and if that was what it took to show our nephews the waterfall for the first time then that was what we were gonna do!

There is an important tale to learn about nature and visiting Slovenia here though, in that you can never be certain what Mother Nature will decide to show you in Slovenia. If we could choose on every next visit to Kozjak then we would love to "go hobbit" again, but nature will decide. 

We always tell people that the absolute best all round times to visit Green Slovenia are April, May, September and October, as you have the best chance of seeing all the water features at their best with still summery weather and pretty much no other visitors or hobbits around.. but you just never know what you are gonna get.. maybe you will get something like the last 2 photos below, or maybe you will need to "go hobbit".. but always take a lollipop to Kojak Falls for the photo opportunity, "who loves ya baby"!

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