When it comes to waterfalls in Slovenia, it does not get much better than Slap Pericnik Waterfall located in the Gorenjska Jesenice region of the country.
There are a lot of unique characteristics of this waterfall to enjoy that I will be talking more about in this guide. Some of these include the waterfall actually having a lower and upper level to visit, having the chance to walk behind the waterfall, and taking part of a hike along the way.
So, if you are around the region and want to visit one of best waterfalls in Slovenia, look no further than Slap Pericnik.
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1) Waterfall Background & Facts
At the entrance of the waterfall, you will find a signboard that has some background information about Slap Pericnik. The info board reads as follows:
“The Pericnik Fall, which was created after the last Ice Age, is one of the youngest waterfalls in Slovenia.
Before the last Ice Age, glacial rivers deposited huge quantities of material, mostly gravel, in the lower part of the Vrata Valley. These deposits eventually hardened into the conglomerate.
During the last Ice Age, the glacier cut into the conglomerate rock, deepened the valley floor and created an impressive, nearly 100 metre high conglomerate cliff. The water that flows over the cliff in two steep drops now forms the Pericnik Fall.”
Pericnik Waterfall Facts
- Waterfall Name: Slap Pericnik
- Location: Mojstrana, Gorenjska Jesenice
- Waterfall Height: 52 meters / 170 feet Lower Falls | 16 meters / 52 feet Upper Falls
- Parking Coordinates: 46°26’17.4″N 13°53’44.8″E
- Parking Cost: 5 Euro for 2 Hours
- Waterfall Cost: Free
- Hike Duration: ~20-30 minutes (each way)
2) How to Get There
There are two main ways to get yourself to Slap Pericnik – by rental car or by the seasonal bus route.
Rental Car: exploring Slovenia in general will always be easiest by having your own rental car. You will be able to explore the country at your own pace and not need to worry about public transport. Simply type in “Slap Pericnik” or the above coordinates into your navigation and be on your way.
Note that the last 2 km / 1.2 miles of the road to the waterfall is not paved. You do not need all wheel drive or anything like that, but just be aware that the road will turn unpaved towards the end.
Car Rentals: When renting a car in Slovenia, I would recommend checking out Rentalcars.com for potential options. You will be able to browse through cars based on price, category & other filters, to find the perfect car for your trip.
Seasonal Bus: there is also the option to take the local Kranjska Gora Shuttle to the waterfall. The bus only runs seasonally in the summer and costs 3 Euro per ride. Take a look at the Kranjska Gora website for the latest schedules.
Read more: Visit the Slap Pericnik waterfall as part of a longer Slovenia road trip around the country
3) Where to Stay
While you can stay in some smaller towns around the region, odds are you will be basing yourself in the town of Bled, just a 30 minute car ride away (and a great base for exploring Triglav National Park). If you are staying there, below are some great option to choose from.
During high season, these hotels will sell out. So once you know your dates I would advise to book your hotel as soon as possible.
Hotel Lovec is located in the heart of Bled, just a few steps from Lake Bled. It offers magnificent views of the lake and the surrounding Alps. All rooms provide air conditioning, a bathroom and a mini-bar. Some also have a balcony with park or lake views and cable TV.
Located on the shores of Lake Bled, the elegant Grand Hotel Toplice features panoramic views of the lake and the Alps. The hotel has a boutique wellness center with a thermal pool, saunas and various massage and beauty treatments. Guests can relax at the lake-view terrace.
Set in the heart of Bled, Rikli Balance Hotel enjoys an elevated position boasting panoramic views of Lake Bled, its Castle and the Julian Alps. It features a modern spa center with indoor and outdoor pools.
4) Pericnik Waterfall Parking
Once you have made it to the parking lot, you will be welcomed to some road side parking on the left hand side.
There are a few different parking sections here and depending on how crowded it is, you may need to continue just a bit further up road.
My recommendation in general is to get an earlier start (or late afternoon visit) to your day to avoid the crowds and have no issue with parking in general. I arrived around 8AM and was one of just a couple people there at the time.
Note that there is a 5 Euro parking fee that you can pay the attendant in the nearby hut. The sign mentions a 2 hour time limit, which should be more than enough time (note that the price on the sign has been updated since my visit).
5) Pericnik Waterfall Price
The nice thing about visiting Pericnik Waterfall is that it is completely free of charge. The only fee you will need to pay is for the parking (or the shuttle bus).
Since there are no gates or anything like that, you technically can visit the waterfall as early as you would like and may not even need to pay the parking fee either.
6) Pericnik Waterfall Hike
Once you are parked and ready to go, it is time to begin the hike up to the lower and upper falls.
Before you even head up to the waterfall, you will first get a great view of the waterfall from the parking lot area. You will see the main lower falls from there and the winding river coming down towards you.
Note: there is a circular loop here, however during my time visiting, the second half of the loop was closed. This meant just up and down on the same path.
If the second half of the trail is open during your visit, feel free to continue the loop down to the bottom.
Either way though, you can start the Pericnik Waterfall hike directly in front of the main viewpoint down by the parking lot. You will see a hiking sign pointing you up towards the waterfall.
Read More | The Top Hiking Trails in Slovenia
Lower Waterfall
While the trail is not paved, there are some stairs built into the mountainside along with railings in certain places.
The pathway can be a bit rocky and tricky in certain spots so do watch your step as you head up. This is a trail you will want proper shoes on, and not flip flops.
For the next 10 minutes or so, the trail climbs higher into the forest as you make your way closer to the waterfall. Soon enough the lower falls will come into view from the pathway.
Continue along until you reach the waterfall itself. From here you can enjoy the view from afar but then you can walk the pathway directly behind the waterfall too.
It is a pretty extraordinary view from behind the waterfall as you get to see the water rushing down and the greenery out in the distance.
You can then continue to the other side of the waterfall and take in the view from this new angle. Do watch your step as you walk the trail and try and stay as far away from the edge as possible.
From there, you will want to retrace your steps behind the waterfall and get yourself back on the original pathway.
If you are up for it, you could head down closer to the bottom of the waterfall to get some nice shots directly in front of it. But be aware, it can get very misty and you will get wet.
Upper Waterfall
After getting back to the main path, to your left you should see a sign pointing you further up the mountain. The sign reads “Zgornji Slap – End of Maintained Trail – Visit at Your Own Risk”.
This is where the trail up to the upper falls begins, and like the sign says, it is less maintained than the first portion of trail.
Although it is not maintained, it is not too hard of a trail to follow. It should take another 10 minutes or so to reach the upper falls.
Along the way you will get some more unique views of Slap Pericnik, climb up some steep stairs, and soon enough reach the top of the waterfall.
While not as vast as the lower falls, here you will find a smaller waterfall running its way off the cliffside, along the river, and then down into the main lower waterfall.
You can spend some time walking around up top, and enjoying the view of the waterfall and all of the surrounding nature in every direction.
Be careful up there too as you don’t want to get too close to the edge. I reached my hand over to get some of the below images that show the water falling off the cliff down into the main lower falls.
From up top, it is just following the same pathway all the way down to the bottom, which should take another 20 minutes or so. If the loop trail is open, you could continue along that instead from the lower falls.
Once back at the bottom, you can get back into your car and head off to your next stop of the day. If you are looking for another waterfall in the region, check out Slap Slavica, Slap Virje and Slap Boka.
That about wraps up a guide to visiting Slap Pericnik Waterfall. If you have any more questions or comments, feel free to write them in below.
Also don’t forget to check out the other Slovenia itineraries and guides up on the site, like the hiking Lake Bohinj or the Seven Lakes Valley Hike.
Have fun out there and safe travels!
