Home > Custom tours > Magical springs of Lake Cerknica
With a water surface area up to 28 km², Lake Cerknica is the largest lake in Slovenia. That is, sometimes, because the water level in this intermittent lake changes from day to day. In most years, the lake is full of water in spring and autumn. In summer, it is often completely dry. The winter water level depends on snow, rain and the temperature and is unpredictable. This changing water level means that you never quite know what to expect at Lake Cerknica. And this is why our Magical springs of Lake Cerknica tour is never the same!
During this 4-hour hike, we follow the forest edge towards the largest springs of Lake Cerknica. After heavy rain and when the snow melts in spring, an incredible amount of water comes out of the underground, on the lower edge of the hills. Even when there is no water appearing at all, the springs are a special place to see, because bare gravel and rocks mark where the water was flowing before. This is a quiet place and often, animals come to drink. We may not see them, but we will search for their tracks: deer, fox, badger and even brown bear often leave their footprints in the sand. The quiet forest edge, with water nearby, attracts birds as well. Woodpeckers are regularly seen and if we are lucky, we may observe black storks searching for fish and frogs.
Lake Cerknica changes every day, but in springtime, everything seems to happen at once! Directly after the snow has melted, early spring flowers appear. Just a few weeks later, the entire forest is green and birds are singing everywhere. Then mayflies appear. First, there are just a few, but soon there are countless mayflies as large clouds of insects swarming above the water.
Birds of many species come to feast on the mayflies, but the insect numbers are so vast that there is no real difference, no matter how many are eaten. This spectacle took one year of preparation because that is how long mayfly larvae take to develop in the water. Once they emerge, all they do is to search for a partner, mate, lay eggs and die. Just a few days after they appeared, the water surface is covered with dead insects and it is all over.
Summer is a quiet time at the magical springs of Lake Cerknica. During our hike, we may see rare forest butterflies. Birds become more difficult to find because they are mostly silent now. There may not be much water, and we can walk straight through the dry streambed. The trees in the forest edge provide a pleasant shade on hot summer days. Even when there is no water, we may see frogs, because they hunt for insects in the meadows. No matter in which season we hike to the magical springs of Lake Cerknica, it will be a memorable experience! This tour is also suitable for small children.
