Soriška planina from Bohinj: an easy start and four kilometres at 9%

Soriška planina is a high pass and small ski resort above the village of Sorica, and the road up from Bohinjska Bistrica is one of the most pleasant climbs in the Julian Alps. It is never brutal. Our track climbs 751 m in 11.9 km to the top at 1,282 m, an average of 6.3%. That number hides the shape: the first half is easy, and almost all the hard work comes in the last four kilometres. Here is how the climb builds, how to ride it, and how to turn it into one of the best one-way rides in Slovenia with the train to bring you home.

The climb: easy start, steady finish

The road leaves Bohinjska Bistrica at 527 m and heads east into the hills towards Nemški Rovt. Slovenia's national tourist board puts the climb from Bohinj at about 700 m of height gain, which matches our track once you allow for where each measurement starts.

• Bohinjska Bistrica to Nemški Rovt: a long warm-up. The first two kilometres are about 5.5%, and the third barely climbs at all at 2.6%. It is easy to ride this too fast because it feels like nothing. Settle in.
• The middle: first signs of a climb. Kilometres four to seven alternate between 4.6%, 8.3%, 7.0% and 3.9%. You get a taste of the steeper road above and then a breather. By 6 km you are at about 860 m.
• The last four kilometres: the real climb. From the eighth kilometre the road settles at 8.8%, 9.3%, 9.2% and 9.1%, almost without variation, as it climbs through the forest towards the ridge. The steepest single kilometre on our track is 9.9%. The final 900 m flatten out at 2.1% onto the pass.

How to ride it

Most riders reach the top in 45 minutes to an hour and a quarter. The climb rewards patience: everything you save in the first half you can spend in the second.

• Ride the first 7 km at endurance pace. Around 70–75% of FTP. The gradient is low enough that it is tempting to push, but every minute you gain here costs you two on the 9% section.
• Hold the last 4 km at a steady threshold-minus. Four kilometres at 9% is a 20–30 minute effort for most people. Ride it at 85–95% of FTP depending on how long you expect to be on it, and don't attack the first steep kilometre. Pacing a climb with power has the method.
• Gearing. A compact with a 30 or 32 sprocket handles 9% comfortably. It is not a climb that needs extreme gears, but it does need a gear you can keep turning for half an hour. See gearing for climbing.
• Dress for the top. The pass is more than 750 m above Bohinjska Bistrica and is a ski resort in winter. Even in summer it can be cool and breezy up there, and the descent on either side is long.

A pass between two valleys

Soriška planina is better known in winter than in summer. The national tourist board describes the ski area as stretching over 25 hectares between 1,287 and 1,550 m, just above the village of Sorica. In summer the lifts stand still, the meadows open up, and the road over the top becomes a link from Bohinj down to Podbrdo and the Baška grapa.

That second road is the reason the climb is worth knowing. The tourist board's suggested road ride goes Bohinjska Bistrica – Soriška planina – Podbrdo – Most na Soči: about 60 km with roughly 700 m of climbing from Bohinj, then a long descent through the Baška grapa gorge to the Soča. From Most na Soči a train with a bike wagon takes you back to Bohinjska Bistrica.

Practical: the train, the roads, the season

• The Bohinj railway. The line through Bohinjska Bistrica is part of the old Prague–Trieste connection and runs through the 6,327 m Bohinj tunnel, the longest rail tunnel in Slovenia, towards the Soča valley. A motorail train also runs between Bohinjska Bistrica and Most na Soči. Check the timetable and bike places before you rely on it. Our guide to rides with trains and ferries covers how to plan around them.
• Season. Summer and early autumn are the time to ride. Outside them, remember this is a ski resort: the top can be snowy or icy when Bohinj is green.
• Base yourself in Bohinj. Bohinjska Bistrica is a good base for a few days of climbing. Our Bled and Bohinj guide has the other roads, and Pokljuka is another big climb close by.
• The descent. The steep 9% section comes back down through the forest with bends you can't see through. Brake before them, not in them; descending faster and safer has more.

Ride it in Moveee Indoor

The route on this page is the real road from Bohinjska Bistrica to the pass, with its height at every point. In Moveee Indoor your smart trainer reproduces that gradient as you ride, and the world around you is built from the map of the actual place: the valley, the hamlets around Nemški Rovt and the forest below the pass. Soriška planina is a good climb for learning restraint. The trainer makes the easy first half feel easy and the last four kilometres feel exactly as steady and long as they are, so you learn what holding back early really buys you.

Try it twice: once riding the first half hard, once riding it easy, and compare your time on the last 4 km. Prefer your own device? Download the GPX above and load it into any app that rides GPX files.

The short version

11.9 km and 751 m from Bohinjska Bistrica to 1,282 m, with an easy first half and four steady kilometres at 9% to finish. Ride the start at endurance pace and save yourself for the forest. Then carry on over the top to Podbrdo and Most na Soči and take the train home.