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Drežnica is mostly
surrounded by mountains.
On the northeast, the
mighty Krn stands out with its elevation (2245 m) as with its
typical shape. Several meters under its peak you can also find an
Alpine hut - Gomišček Refuge. Mt. Krn rises above Drežnica with
its precipitous western rock wall, almost 800 m high. You can
experience it by taking the interesting blazed alpine trail. The
peak itself is famous for the best view far and wide - on a clear
day you can see from the mountains in Austria to the Adriatic Sea.
Mt. Kožljak (1602 m)
rises under Mt. Krn to the east, and you can find Mt. Botognice
(2165 m) hiding behind Mt. Krn to the northeast. This is where the
frontline was passing by during the 1st World War, so that the
whole mountain is literally pierced through. The mountain chain of
Mt. Krn drags to the northwest over the beautiful ridge of Krnšica
(2142 m), Vrata (2014 m), ending with Mt. Vršič (1897 m). The
richness in fauna and flora can be found here, but also many
remains of the Isonzo Front. You can see Mt. Krasji vrh (1772 m)
to the northwest of Drežnica, beginning a new mountain crest
towards Mt. Polovnik. The basin is separated from the main Soča
Valley with the Ozben Hill (793 m) in the south.
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The
Krampež Waterfall (19m) |
The natural beauties of
Drežnica are hidden also in numerous gorges, cutting through
terraced morainic alluviums in the surroundings.
The Ročica Stream rises
from several springs directly under Mt. Krn and makes many
waterfalls on its voyage.
We can cross the Ročica
Stream on the way to Koseč, where we can set out to its right
spring, the Sušec, falling into three consecutive waterfalls. The
lower Krampež Waterfall (19 m) with a beautiful pool is
best-known and accessible.
A bit higher, between
Koseč and Drežnica, near Sušec, we can find a boulder named
Debela peč (''The big furnace''), one of the biggest glacier
boulders in Slovenia.
On its way towards the Soča,
the Ročica Stream with its affluents created deep water channels
which reach to 100 m depth in its deepest part. This is also a
place of many waterfalls, with the highest Slovenian trough-shaped
waterfall (59,5 m).
Below Koseč, there are
also the Koseč river beds, which are wild and difficult to access
and therefore can only be seen in part.
A reliable footpath takes
us past St. Just's Church. Near the church we descend to the
fenced causeway, once used by cattlemen. After 700 meters we
arrive to the Stopnik Brook, which makes steep waterfalls on its
way to the Ročica river beds.
The Stopnik I Waterfall
is 22 m high. Several hundred meters ahead is a two-leveled
waterfall named Stopnik II (37 m). The Stopnik Brook falls into
the Ročica water channels with another waterfall, 25 meters high.
The footpath turns around
afterwards, leading up-stream to the only passage through the wild
Koseč water channels, made by the Brusnik Brook. The gorge is
from 40 to 60 meters deep, practically impassable and therefore
unexplored. The Brusnik Brook also falls into the Ročica with
many waterfalls.
When ascending from the
water channels, we continue our way on the left bank of the Ročica
Brook. 500 m further we can see a natural bridge, made by a giant
rock, stuck in the gorge. After a two-hour walk, we are back at
the starting-point.
Some waterfalls are
easily accessible (The Krampež Waterfall, the waterfalls on the
Stopnik Brook, the waterfall under St. Just's Church), but the
highest trough-shaped waterfall can only be visited with a guide.
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The
mysterious Kozjak Waterfall (15m) |
The Kozjak Brook springs
high above Drežniške Ravne. It paves its way through the upper
water channels between Drežnica and Drežniške Ravne. They are
quite broad and deep, but linked up with a stony bridge, once used
to connect Drežnica and Ravne.
Downstream, the Kozjak
carved out even more mysterious, very deep lower river beds, which
are mostly very difficult to access. At its mouth, the water dives
deep to the great Kozjak Waterfall, which represents one of the
most fascinating natural sights of the Soča Valley.
The water falls 15 meters
deep into an almost subterranean cave. The sunlight can only
pierce through a crack in the ''ceiling'' and that's why this is
always a reign of mysterious, obscure atmosphere, even on the
brightest day.
A little further, the
brook shows itself smaller, the Little Kozjak Waterfall (8 m).
Near the road Kobarid-Drežnica, an interesting and comfortable
path takes us to both waterfalls, past the caverns and trenches
from World War I.
All the streams fall into
the Soča, which borders the land of Drežnica. The section under
Drežnica, between Trnovo and Kobarid, is a labyrinth of many wild
rapids which the Soča has created and only the experts in
kayaking and rafting can master. Here also lies the Otona pool -
one of the most beautiful pools in the world, the home of the Soča
giant trouts.
Further on, the Soča
created a gorge, more than 100 m deep. Just before Kobarid,
running through a picturesque river bed under the old Napoleon
Bridge, the Soča finally calms down into a wider stream. |
