Podbrdo – Hotels between Waterfalls and Railway History

Podbrdo combines a diverse landscape with traces of the transport and settlement history of the Baška grapa. Waterfalls, gorges and mountain trails are just as much part of the village’s character as St. Nicholas Church, the Jakovkna House and the railway station at the Bohinj Tunnel. This means that nature observation, hiking routes, cycling trails and cultural-history sites all come together in Podbrdo.

Nature

The Travbah stream flows from Bača pri Podbrdu to Podbrdo and forms a 7 m high waterfall along its course. From Petrovo Brdo, another stream reaches Podbrdo via the Rus Waterfall; this waterfall is visible from the road between Podbrdo and Petrovo Brdo. The Driselpoh stream also features several small waterfalls, the highest of which is 7 m high. Before flowing into the Bača, it passes through the easily accessible, glacially formed Kamrca Canyon. The Driselpoh Gorge is counted among Slovenia’s hundred natural wonders.

Podbrdo is considered a starting point for visiting the gorges and waterfalls of Mačji potok in the surrounding area. Another natural feature can be found among the vertical and overhanging rocks on the road before Podbrdo, opposite the wastewater treatment plant: this is the nearest habitat of the endemic short-haired sandwort. The plant blooms at the beginning of May; at higher elevations, it can already be seen from July.

Hiking and Mountain Trails

A lightly marked trail leads from Podbrdo to Črna prst in about three hours. At the pass, views open across the Bohinj Valley to Triglav. The hut on Črna prst can be reached in 15 minutes, while the summit is another minute higher. Podbrdo is also included in two stages of the Juliana Trail: the eighth stage leads from Bohinjska Bistrica via Vrh Bače and then steeply down into the valley of Podbrdo, while the ninth stage begins in Podbrdo and climbs uphill to Kalarsko Brdo. The Juliana Trail is marked with signposts and can be followed without a guide.

The GM4O route uses old military mule tracks and mountain trails along the slopes of Črna prst and Porezen. The GM4O Mountain Marathon starts at the Podbrdo TIC and finishes in Podbrdo. The Rapallo Trail also follows a historic route: it runs along an old military mule track and passes a well-preserved underground bunker as well as the barracks on Robarjev grič.

Culture and History

The Jakovkna House is located in the old village center of Podbrdo, a permanent exhibition housed in a renovated historic building next to St. Nicholas Church. The exhibition presents the settlement of the upper Baška grapa in the 13th century as the result of extensive German colonization. It also documents the construction of the Bohinj Tunnel and the railway line, which was completed in 1906.

St. Nicholas Church in Podbrdo is mentioned as early as 1588. The Baroque parish church of St. Nicholas is considered Podbrdo’s most important cultural and historical monument. The railway station is also part of this history: Podbrdo railway station was renamed Piedicolle and became a border interchange station. The train enters Podbrdo railway station immediately after passing through the Bohinj Tunnel. The station complex stands on a railway embankment built using material excavated from the Bohinj Tunnel.

Cycling and Events

The Juliana Bike route leads uphill from Podbrdo and the Baška grapa towards Petrovo Brdo. This is also the watershed between the Soča and Sava rivers. Another route leads from Zakojca over mountain ridges and past remote farmsteads towards the Baška grapa and Podbrdo. The Podbrdo Trail Running Festival is part of the village’s event calendar and has hosted world championships and national championships.

Other places:Srpenica, Logje, Sedlo, Žaga, Petrovo Brdo, Tolmin, Most Na Soči, Čiginj

To the higher-level travel overview: Tolmin.