Vršič Pass

Slovenia’s highest road pass at 1,611 m, fifty numbered hairpins, twenty-four of them cobbled.

The single best drive in the country, and the most direct link between the Alpine and Soča halves of a trip.

The road over Vršič was built by Russian prisoners of war in 1915 to supply the Isonzo front, and the hairpins are still numbered on stone markers. Twenty-four of the fifty bends retain their original cobbles. It connects Kranjska Gora with the Trenta and upper Soča valleys, and driving it is one of the genuinely memorable things to do in Slovenia, as is cycling it, which is a serious effort. The pass is closed by snow in winter and can close at short notice in spring and autumn.

Photo: .snoopy. · CC BY-SA 4.0