Things to do
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Italian Charnel House
On Gradič hill above Kobarid, three octagonal tiers of stone ring the church of St Anthony, lined with the names of more than 7,000 Italian soldiers killed on the Soča front. A road with the stations of the cross leads up from the square in about fifteen minutes. The terrace looks over the town and the valley towards Krn.
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Kobarid Museum
Maps, photographs, uniforms and a large relief model of the Soča front fill this museum on the main square, covering the mountain war between Italy and Austria-Hungary. Its best-known subject is the 1917 breakthrough at Kobarid, known in Italian as Caporetto. Allow an hour, and use it as the starting point for the waymarked Kobarid Historical Trail.
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Kolovrat Outdoor Museum
Along the Kolovrat ridge on the Italian border, restored trenches, caverns and gun positions from the Italian third line of defence can be walked in about an hour. The ridge looks across the Soča valley to Krn and, on clear days, towards the Adriatic. It is a drive up from Kobarid via Livek, with a small parking area by the trail.
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Kozjak Falls
Hidden inside a rock chamber, the fall drops into a green pool in a space that feels like a half-open cave. The approach from Kobarid crosses the Soča on the Napoleon Bridge and follows a riverside path for about half an hour, ending on a wooden walkway. It is ticketed, and a short visit fits easily into a morning.
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Nebesa Chalets
A few timber chalets stand on a ridge at Livek, high above Kobarid and close to the Italian border, each with a terrace facing across the Soča valley towards Krn. Guests share a main house with a kitchen stocked for breakfast, and the road up from the valley takes about twenty minutes. Clear mornings put the Julian range in view from the beds.
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Tolmin Gorges
About a quarter of an hour south of Kobarid, the Tolminka and Zadlaščica rivers meet in narrow limestone gorges crossed by bridges, among them the high Devil's Bridge. A ticketed circuit of about an hour passes clear green pools and a warm spring. Paths are steep and slippery in parts, and the gorges are open only in the warmer months.