HIKING MOUNT VOGEL – THE BEST HIKE IN THE BOHINJ AREA

Welcome back, my fellow hikers! This week, we will hike to the top of Mount Vogel which will grant you the best views of Triglav National Park in Slovenia and, of course, of Bohinj Lake. Located in the heart of the Julian Alps, hiking Mount Vogel is a must for nature lovers. As you embark on this hike, you’ll find yourself surrounded by lush greenery, crisp mountain air, and panoramic views that will take your breath away. So lace up your boots and join me in this fantastic hike.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

MOUNT VOGEL AND TRIGLAV NATIONAL PARK

Mount Vogel is a 1922m high mountain in Slovenia which is part of the southern Julian Alps and Triglav National Park. It is one of the most climbed mountains in Slovenia due to its proximity to the beautiful Bohinj Lake. In fact, from the gondola that will take you to the beginning of this hike, you get fantastic aerial views of the lake.

Triglav National Park is Slovenia’s largest protected area and only its only national park. It takes its name from Slovenia’s highest mountain, Triglav (2864 m), and is seen by many as a kind of holy mountain. The park includes the majority of the eastern part of the Julian Alps. 

Fun Fact: Did you know that Triglav National Park is considered the Kingdom of Zlatorog? One of Slovenia’s legends tells of a god in the shape of a golden-horned chamois who reigned over the Julian Alps.

HIKING MOUNT VOGEL - PRACTICAL INFORMATION

Vogel Cable Car

This hike begins at the Vogel Cable Car mountain station, This means you will absolutely have to ride the gondola if you want to complete the hike. 

The Vogel Cable Car will take you from the valley station, near Bohinj Lake, to the mountain station at 1535 m above sea level. This cable car runs daily throughout the year with a gondola ride every 30 minutes. 

To check the exact operating hours an prices, please check the official Vogel Cable Car Website.

Things To Know Before Hiking

Here are some tips that will help you prepare to hike Mount Vogel:

  1. As mentioned before, to complete this hike you have to use Vogel Cable Car. This gondola only rides every 30 minutes and can get a bit busy during the high season. To avoid wasting precious time waiting, I recommend you target to take the first gondola ride.
  2. Parking at Vogel Cable Car is free although parking spots are limited. 
  3. Despite working daily every 30 minutes, due to adverse weather conditions (such as storms), cable car operations might be temporarily suspended. This happened to us, we wanted to ride the cable car to return to the parking lot, but due to a sudden storm, the cable car was not operating for an hour and a half.
  4. Your Vogel Cable Car tickets also give you access to the Orlove Glave Chairlift. This can be very helpful to skip a dull part of the hike through the skying slopes.

Equipment Needed

Depending on your fitness level, this hike can be considered as a moderate to difficult level. The following equipment will help make your hike comfortable.

  • Good hiking shoes. The hike will take you from alpine meadows all the way to the peak of Mount Vogel. There are some parts of the trail in which you will even have to do some scrambling through rocks so shoes that can give you a good grip are an absolute must. During the summer months, I always use my Altra Lone Peak trail shoes which are super light and comfortable.
  • A light water-resistant fleece. Even if you are hiking during the summer months, the weather in the mountains can change really fast so it is super important to have a fleece that will keep you warm. During our hike, we had the most amazing weather throughout the day. However, while we were trying to get the cable car down to the valley, there was a summer storm that made us have to wait for an hour and a half. 
  • Hiking poles. Hiking poles will give your knees a lot of support during the ascent and descent parts of your hike. The hiking poles I have are these Black Diamond ones.
  • Backpack to carry snacks and water. This hike is a demanding one, so I always recommend having some snacks and plenty of water to give you energy and hydration along the hike. My backpack is from Osprey.
  • A hat and plenty of sunscreen. In the mountains, our exposure to UV  is higher than at sea level because of the altitude. Always remember to apply plenty of sunscreen and bring a hat with you to avoid heatstroke. I love my buff cap. 
PLAN YOUR TRIP TO SLOVENIA

my experience hiking mount vogel

Hike Summary

  • Trail Start/End: Vogel Cable Car Mountain Station
  • Distance: 11 km
  • Elevation Gain: 702 m
  • Route Type: Circular Route
  • Estimated Time Needed: 6-7 hours  (This includes plenty of time to rest and enjoy the views).
If you want to do the same hike as we did, we followed this AllTrails hike: Vogel Summit, Bohinj Slovenia 

Riding the Vogel Cable Car & Lake Views

In order to avoid the crowds and the peak sun hours while ascending Mount Vogel, we wanted to take the first gondola ride of the morning at 8 am. We arrived at 7:30 at the parking lot to allow us to have some time to put on our hiking shoes, get ready, and buy our return cable car tickets.

The ride in the gondola was quite fast and comfortable and in only 10 minutes we were at the top station. Unfortunately, the views of Lake Bohinj during the ride were not very interesting as there were morning clouds and mist that reduced the visibility. 

As soon as we got out of the gondola, went to enjoy the views of the cloudy valley. Despite not being able to see the lake from above, cloud inversions are also really beautiful to admire. 

Alpine Meadows

Once you are at the top station, you can choose whether you want to do your hike clockwise or counterclockwise. If you choose to do it clockwise, you will get to skip some of the ascent by using the Orlove Glave Chairlift, which is what most people choose to do. 

We chose to do it counterclockwise and in my opinion, it was the best decision we could have taken. Yes, we had to hike up all the way up ourselves but since most people choose to do this hike clockwise, we got to experience the meadow part of this hike completely alone and it was amazing!

The first part of the trail was through some very steep rocky roads and paths but thanks to the hiking poles it was quite manageable. Along the way, we saw some really huge tracks that were being used to create some new skying slopes for the winter season.

Hiking Mount Vogel

Soon enough we reached a small mountain hut which was still closed since it was still quite early. Here we turned right and followed the trail into a beautiful meadow where some cattle were peacefully eating. It was a very serene and peaceful moment. We crossed the meadow and started ascending towards the base of Mount Vogel. 

Halfway along this part, we turned around to get amazing views of the meadow with the Julian Alps in the background. This was without any doubt, our favorite part of the hike!

Hiking Mount Vogel

Summiting Mount Vogel

At a certain moment, you will reach an intersection in which you will see directions to Vogel and to Šija. For now, follow the sign towards Vogel. You will later return here and continue towards Šija. 

At this moment, the hike gets a bit more challenging and you will have to do some scrambling at some parts. We even folded our hiking poles so that we could have both our hands free.

Important: If you are not very surefooted, please skip this part of the hike. The views from here are already amazing, and it is not worth it to take a risk. 

Mount Sija

Once you have enjoyed the views, you will have to walk back to the previous intersection and now, follow the directions towards Šija. This part of the trail is, in my opinion, the most complicated part since at some point you have to walk on some iron pegs. 

In full honesty, we decided to skip this part because we didn’t feel safe walking on the iron pegs without a safety clip-on. However, if you still want to summit Mount Šija as well, it is possible to take a detour and ascent the way you would do if you were completing the hike clockwise. For us, the views, we got from Vogel were enough so we just took the detour and skipped summiting Šija.

Descending through the slopes & taking the chairlift

After our detour, it was time to start the descent through the sky slopes. This part was not so interesting after the breathtaking backdrops we had had during the day. To make it pass as fast as possible, we took the Orlove Glave Chairlift until the Vogel Cable Car station. 

Nevertheless, next to where you get the chairlift, there is a small viewpoint with a bell that you can check out before leaving this area. 

Back at the Vogel Cable Car mountain station, we were surprised by a summer storm while we were trying to get back to the lake. While we waited, we decided to indulge in a blueberry cake at the cafeteria to regain some energy after the hike. Let me say it was delicious!

To complete our day, after the storm had passed, we got to enjoy some amazing views of Lake Bohinj without any clouds. It was the perfect way to end our day.

Hiking Mount Vogel

MAP WITH ALL LOCATIONS

And that’s it for my blog about Hiking Mount Vogel. I hope you liked it and it encouraged you to include this beautiful hike in  your itinerary in Slovenia. Let me know what you think in the comments! 

Happy hiking!

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