Best Viewpoints Of The Lake Bled

Written by Arijana Tkalčec

Lake Bled is known as a symbol of Slovenia. I believe its picture-perfect setting has something to do with it; bluish-green lake, the church on a small island, a medieval castle on the rocky cliff with mountain peaks of the Julian Alps and the Karavanke in the backdrop. Can it be more perfect?

Best viewpoints at Lake Bled

Hiking to the lake viewpoints is a must as the views are simply breathtaking. There are three main viewpoints. The most famous one is Ojštrica. The name might not sound familiar to you, but the photos with The Bench (probably most famous bench in Slovenia) are for sure. To come to the Ojštrica viewpoint, you have to go to the side of the lake where the docks are. Behind the restaurant walk near the woods and search for the sign „Ojštrica – Osojnica.“ When you find the right path, follow the signs through the woods. After a short walk up, you'll have to turn right where you climb the hill, and then you're there. It's not far, approximately 15 minutes of the easy hike. I suggest coming in the early morning because sunrises are amazing there. Plus, this is the quickest and most accessible viewpoint to get to so many people will be there, and you'll have to wait in the queue to get to the bench (if people will be kind enough to move from the bench).

The view from Ojštrica - I don't have the photo of the bench as the line of people was just too big to wait for it to get free. :D

But please, don't stop there. Continue your hike and visit two more viewpoints. We continued to the Velika Osojnica first. You come down from the Ojštrica viewpoint and continue the hike up. Follow the signs, and you won't get lost. I highly recommend doing this as most of the tourist come only for The Bench, so if you continue your hike, you'll get more amazing views, and most importantly, peace. You will have a place for yourself.

The view from Velika Osojnica.

After that, we went back and went to Mala Osojnica too. Mala Osojnica viewpoint is one of the favorite viewpoints for photographers as it offers the best views of the Lake Bled and surrounding area.

Mala Osojnica viewpoint.

If you have a better lens than I do, you can do wonders from this viewpoint.

The walk from Velika to Mala Osojnica takes 20 minutes. Along the way, you'll pass one small viewpoint with a bench too. Only this one offers the view of the valley from the other side.

The viewpoint on the valley behind on the way from Velika to Mala Osojnica.

The view on the valley.

From that part, you can continue down. You have to take a huge staircase, and soon you'll be at the bottom. That's the circular route as you're not coming down the same way as you were getting up.

It's steeper than it looks. :D

If you're going for sunrise, I suggest starting your hike the other way (from Mala Osojnica which offers the best sunrise photos to Velika Osojnica and then Ojštrica).

The peaks you can see from Mala Osojnica.

Where is lake Bled and how to get there?

It is located in northwestern Slovenia, 35 km from Ljubljana International Airport and 55 km from Ljubljana, the capital. Bled is also close to the Austrian border (Wurzenpaß) or Italy (Fusine Laghi – Rateče), only 47 km away.

The best way to reach Bled is by using your car (although you may struggle with finding parking in the season) or by bus. It is connected with regular bus lines with its surrounding area and all the larger cities in Slovenia. The bus operator FlixBus provides long-distance bus services to Bled.

When to visit?

There is no wrong time for visiting Bled and hiking the viewpoints. I've visited Bled during every season, and each of them offers a unique atmosphere. The wintertime (when there is snow) can be a bit tricky for hiking, but if you come prepared, there's nothing to worry. Just make sure to check the weather prognosis, so you don't have rain, or it's not too foggy. Once we came during the winter, there was no lake at all – that's how foggy it was.