Zelenci

Zelenci is the place where a river is born. In a pool of unearthly turquoise beneath the Ponce peaks, waters that vanished under the gravel of Planica and Tamar surface again — and flow on under the name Sava Dolinka. Together with its sister, the Sava Bohinjka, which springs to life at the Savica Waterfall, it merges near Radovljica into the Sava, Slovenia’s longest river, which ends its journey only in the Danube. The Bled region thus holds both river birthplaces — Zelenci and Savica.

The extraordinary colour is no optical trick: the pool rests on a bed of white lake chalk through which the springs bubble like miniature underwater volcanoes — hence the name Zelenci, from “zelen”, green. The water keeps a constant 5–6 °C year-round, so the pool never freezes: in the depths of winter, steam rises from the open emerald surface amid a snowbound landscape — one of the most photographed winter scenes in the Julian Alps.

The reserve, home to endangered birds and marsh flora, was beloved by the alpinist and writer Julius Kugy, who sang of these places as the gateway to a mountain paradise — his monument stands nearby on the road to Trenta. Boardwalks with an observation deck now lead through Zelenci; a visit takes a pleasant half hour.