If you want to experience and see the waterfalls of Slovenia in a nutshell, you can do so by visiting waterfals of stream Otavščica (Pekelski slapovi) at Borovnica. Access to most Slovenian waterfalls is appropriately marked and properly equipped with stairs, steel ropes over precipices and wooden footbridges.
The Otavščica stream originates below the villages of D.Otave and G.Otave. Otavščica makes its way through a steep gorge and is actually just one big waterfall. It is an extremely varied stream, as it creates many different shapes of waterfalls, jumps and rustles. An inscription and a map carved into the trunk at the beginning of the ascent towards the waterfalls reminds us of five waterfalls, but there are actually *seven of them, four to twenty meters high. If we count the steep rapids and gutters along which the stream flows, much more. In spring, we can feel the harmony between the falling water, the picturesque rock shelves and the blooming greenery. Winter will surprise us with fantastic frozen shapes of Otavščica trapped in the ice.
ACCESS:
Before embarking on the trail, it is necessary to know that a safe trail requires appropriate mountaineering footwear and physical fitness. The path to the upper waterfalls in the gorge is partly climbing, so it is not suitable for small children or for a "walk with the dog". From Vrhnika we go past Bistra (technical museum) to Borovnica, then further along the road to the villages of Ohonica and Pristava to the home in Peklo. From here we continue along a marked and well-trodden walking path through a meadow on which stands an upright trunk with a stylized map of gorge of Otavščica stream and marked (five) waterfalls. Immediately upon arrival at the stream (5 minutes walk) we reach the footbridge, from where we can see the first rapids with a drop of about 5 meters. Continue up the left side of the stream. To the right of the bank we can also see steep gutters, overgrown with moss, from where smaller streams flow into Otavščica stream. Along the rapids upwards we come to the first three noises of height differences from 2 to 4 m (Waterfall Mark 1). Interestingly, a smaller waterfall is marked, while the much larger one (* the fourth waterfall) with a steep gutter is not mentioned anywhere. Soon we come along a moderately ascending path to a rocky wall, to a footbridge over a stream and to a wooden staircase. If we do not continue the path immediately to the right over the footbridge, but a few meters to the left, we can see a waterfall falling over a rock wall (height difference 15+ m., Sign Waterfall 2). Wooden stairs lead to the top of the second waterfall, where there is a pool into which the third waterfall Kozjak falls (Together with the upper gutter 20-m height difference). Wooden stairs and iron ladders lead to the path along the left bank of the stream and then over the footbridge, from where we can see a foamy stream sliding up a steep gutter (height difference 5 m). The marked path leads steeply to the right bank of the stream. If we take a closer look at the opposite bank, we can see the old path to the (fourth) waterfall. Unfortunately, storms and years have severely affected it, but the local community takes exemplary care of it. After it we come to the fourth waterfall, which falls in a steep gutter 7 m deep. Following the same path, we have to go back across the stream and then continue along the steep path up along a few smaller jumps towards the *fifth waterfall. The view of it is extremely picturesque, as a mighty stream of water falls in a more than 15+ m deep fall on a rocky shelf and scatters across it into a magnificent fan. We continue the path over the footbridge to the left bank, above the *sixth waterfall (height difference 15 m), hidden in the troughs. This waterfall is visible just above the fifth. Soon we reach the highest (fifth) *seventh waterfall (approximately 20+ m altitude difference) over the footbridge over deep gorges.
Although in some places in the literature the stream through the gorge is called Borovniščica, the Otavščica stream gets the name Borovniščica, only lower after it flows out of the Pekel gorge.
Important notice: Trail
through the gorge and the access to the upper part of
the gorge is recommended only with the proper boots and hiking experience. |
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