Nadiža river

The Nadiža river is one of the two rivers in my home country, that are called the Mountain Jewels of Slovenia. The other one is Soča with its unreal green colour, but it can be very cold with its fourteen degrees. Nadiža is warmer and usually attracts more visitors. Soča is suitable more for the extreme sports lovers, that like white water rafting, kayaking, and other adventure sports.

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On hot summer days, Nadiža can be as warm as twenty degrees, but it can even freeze in winter. When there are long periods with sun in summer, even the water that is over two meters deep, is very warm, but the temperature can drop dramatically even with a day of raining. Sometimes, it is warm enough to swim in May already, and even in September, but this only happens once in a few years. The water is very clear and you can see a lot of fishes (especially trouts) and occasionally some frogs, swimming inside. Kids love it.

The river Nadiža forms several places, that are excellent for swimming, and the best one is called Robič, and it got its name after the closest village. Also, this place is the closest one to the Italian border. If you follow the stream of the river, you will eventually reach the border after about a kilometre. But you have to walk along it, because the water is too shallow to swim. The other good swimming places are also all named by the nearest villages, and they are the following (I will list them from the one that is closest to the spring of the river to the one that is the most distant. The spring is situated in Italy):

• Logje. Napoleonov most (the Napoleon bridge). There are two Napoleon bridges close to Kobarid. One is crossing the river Soča (you have to cross this one if you are going to Drežnica) and one is crossing the river Nadiža.



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• Podbela has a nice place for kids, because water is not very deep at the beginning, but it is deep enough even for adults to swim. Last year, the average depth in the middle was one meter and a half.
• Kamp Nadiža in Podbela is a campsite with an excellent reputation in terms of this region and also in terms of the whole country, and there are guests from all over Europe coming there. The campsite offers, besides the camping itself, also a good bar, a big playground for kids, a volleyball and basketball court, table tennis and a place to light a campfire. They also used to have a slack line there a few years ago. The owner is very friendly, and even if you are not staying in the campsite, you can go down to the river to swim, without paying any entrance or parking fees. You just can not park your car inside the parking for camping guests, but there is a space to park about ten cars outside.
• Robič is, in my opinion, the best of all those places. There is a huge parking space, and the bar Zder with a small playground for kids.

There are other places, which are less famous and known mostly by local people, and you can reach them by choosing random spots.

How to get to those places?

When you will be going on the way to Logje, you will probably meet a lot of cyclists on the way, because these roads are extremely popular among them. You can get to all of these places from Kobarid, where you have to turn right in the direction of Breginj. If you would like to get to Robič, you just have to keep going straight without turning, pass through the Robič village and then, after about two hundred meters after the end, you will see the sign that will point you to the parking space. The river is right after the fence and you have plenty of good spaces to choose from, either on the left or on the right bank of the river.

When going to all of the other remaining places, you will pass through the following two villages: Staro Selo and Potoki. The next village will be Borjana, and in the middle of it, right before the church that you will see on the hill, you will see the sign Podbela, that will point you to the left. After you turn, you will pass through Podbela, and at the road sign that shows you that Podbela has ended, you have to turn left to get to the campsite Nadiža Podbela. The parking spaces are located at the end of the road, just before the entrance to the campsite. The other swimming place in Podbela is situated just about two hundred meters ahead, you just have to cross the bridge and then turn left.

To get to Napoleonov most, just keep going straight, without turning left after the bridge. You will know when you reached the right spot, when you will see the parking spot on your left. The river is a bit difficult to access at this point, and you have to have good shoes with you. On the other side of the road, opposite the parking space, you will see a steep, narrow path that leads down to the water. It is a good idea to have your things with you in a backpack, so your hands are free. In the middle of the way down, you can go to the bridge to the other side of the river. Down at the river, you have plenty of space to put your things, you can choose between the rocks, the sand, the part with sun and the part with shadow. There are some big rocks, off which you can jump, but the water is not always deep enough. It depends on the year and the amount of rain. If you will walk upwards the stream of the Nadiža river at Napoleonov most, you will reach the Nadiža gorges after about twenty minutes.

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To get to the last place, you have to drive past the parking space at the Napoleon Bridge. After a steep hill upwards, you will reach a junction with a sign that will point to the right, saying Logje and Breginj. If you turn left, you will get to Robidišče, which is a small town, situated two kilometers away. After you turn, the road will start going downwards and there will be a lot of curves. Again, you will see a parking space on your right first, and after about fifty meters, there will be another one on your left. After you park the car, keep walking down the road, and you will soon reach the bridge. Before the bridge, you can either turn left or right. On the left, the water is deeper and therefore colder, and on the right, it is more shallow, suitable for kids too.

You do not have to turn back and drive the same way to get back to Kobarid. When you are in Logje swimming place, just cross the bridge and keep driving on the narrow road, until you reach the village Logje. It is true that this road is very narrow, so if you are not a very good driver, encountering another car can be quite difficult. You will reach the next village, Breginj, after a few kilometers. Then, just drive through the following villages and do not turn anywhere: Sedlo, Homec, Stanovišče, Borjana (this is the place where you have to turn to get to Podbela), Potoki and Staro Selo. After Staro Selo, you have to turn left to get back to Kobarid.

Two of those swimming places are artificially deepened, because naturally, water does not get deep enough – Robič and the place in Podbela after the bridge.

In my opinion, there is a thing that destroyed Nadiža – paying ridiculously high parking fees. When the season starts – from mid – June to September, every visitor has to pay a parking fee, even on rainy days and even if you are going to stay there just ten minutes to see the river, you will pay the same amount. The only good thing about this ticket is, that you can use it in the same day at all of the places I mentioned. The money that is collected there, goes for the maintenance of parking spaces by the river, a couple of trash bins and the portable toilets, that they put there.

The fees vary – it depends on the vehicle and on the time of the week you are coming (either weekends and national holidays – it might happen that you will have to pay even if there is not a holiday in your country on that day, or weekdays). Vehicles are divided in the four categories – motorbikes, cars and campers, vans, and buses. The good thing is that it does not matter how many persons are inside the vehicle.

If you are coming with a motorbike, you will pay two Euros on weekdays, and three Euros on weekends and national holidays. If you are coming by a car or a camper, you will pay five Euros on weekdays and ten Euros on weekends and national holidays. If you own a van, you will pay seven Euros on weekdays and fourteen Euros on weekends and national holidays. If there is a group of people, coming by bus, this can be a good deal, because the price will split among all passengers. The ticket on weekdays will cost fifteen Euros, and on weekends and national holidays it will cost thirty Euros.

If you intend to come in the afternoon – from 14. 00 hour onwards, there is an option of paying half of the price, but it is not always possible. It depends on the person that is selling the tickets.

If you are staying in one of the apartments, hotels or campsites in the Kobarid region, you can get a 50% discount, but you need a proof that you are staying in one of those places.

If you park your car inside without paying, the person selling the tickets usually calls the police and you get a ticket that will cost you ninety Euros. Sadly, this makes a lot of tourists turn and never come back.

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There is also an option of buying a season pass, which is a great option if you intend to visit Nadiža more than one time in one season, and, same as the daily tickets, you can use it in all of the places. The price of this pass depends on whether you are the resident of the Kobarid municipality or not. If you are, you will pay 20 Euros for the season pass, and if you are not, you will pay thirty – five Euros.

Another downside is a lot of insects, and sometimes, there are some snakes close to ( or inside ) the water. There are a lot of butterflies which can get really annoying.

Last but not least, even if there are ridiculously high parking fees, there are still a lot of people, especially in Robič. I guess because it is the place that is accessible the easiest way. In August, there are holidays in Italy, called Ferragosto, and since the Italian border is situated very close, they all go to Nadiža on weekends. A lot of kids means very loud environment, but still, if you appreciate the beauty of nature, you will definitely enjoy spending the day at the beautiful Nadiža river.