The Fusine Lakes
Two sheets of water nine kilometres from Tarvisio, and a loop walk you can do in two hours without being fit.
- From the houseabout 9 km · 15 minutes by car
- When to goAll year round.
- How many lakesTwo: upper and lower
- The full loopAbout 2 hours, easy
There are two of them, and it is worth knowing before you set off, because almost every photograph you find online is of the same one: the upper lake, the one with the Mangart behind it. The lower lake is smaller, lower down and more sheltered, and it has one merit its famous brother lacks: you reach it in barely half an hour, and in summer it is almost empty at eight in the morning.
The water is glacial in origin and has that colour which looks retouched in photographs and turns out not to be. It shifts through the day: emerald green when the sun is high, almost black in the afternoon shade. It is not a postcard trick, it is the depth changing under the light.
Go early. From ten in the morning onwards, in August and on autumn weekends, the car park fills and the road backs up. At eight the water is still as a mirror and the whole reflection of the Mangart is there: that is the hour of the photographs you will look at again in winter.
The classic walk links both lakes and takes about two hours. No preparation is needed: there are no exposed stretches and no difficult passages. It is the kind of walk you do in trainers, as long as the soles are not smooth.
With a pushchair you will manage only part of the loop: less than half the route runs on a made path. With small children a child carrier is better, or stay at the lower lake, which is flat.
The Fusine Lakes in pictures
Frequently asked questions
Can you swim in the Fusine Lakes?
The water is glacial in origin and stays very cold even at the height of summer. This is not a place for swimming: for that, Lake Predil is a quarter of an hour away and decidedly warmer.
Is the Fusine Lakes walk suitable for children?
Yes, the route presents no difficulties. With very young children, though, a pushchair is of little use: less than half the path is made up. A child carrier is better, or stay at the lower lake.
How much does parking at the Fusine Lakes cost?
Around four to five euros a day for a car, fifteen for a camper van and three for a motorbike. You pay from 8am to 6pm, every day from July to September and at weekends only in June and October. For the rest of the year parking is free.
We run a holiday flat in Tarvisio, in a well-served, strategic spot in the heart of the village. We know these places because we go to them: the distances, the car parks and the opening times above were all checked at source, one by one.
See the flat