Last updated on November 1st, 2020 at 05:33 pm

Just three hours north of Venice, nestled at the foot of the Italian side of the Julian Alps, lie the sapphire Fusine Lakes (or Laghi di Fusine in Italian).

These sparkling glacial lakes are one of Italy’s best-kept secrets and I am still mystified that no one seems to know about them! Keep reading to find out more about these secret lakes of Italy and why Laghi di Fusine should be on your bucket list.

Why You Need to Visit Laghi di Fusine

The Fusine Lakes Are Incredibly Beautiful

Laghi di Fusine is frequently overshadowed by its more popular cousins, Lake Como and Lake Garda. Because of that, the Fusine Lakes offer an untouched natural beauty that is, oftentimes, difficult to come by. Like a hidden treasure shrouded beneath the Mangart, one of the highest mountains in the Julian Alps, Laghi di Fusine is an absolute dream. These incredible natural lakes reflect the surrounding mountains and evergreen trees in their cerulean waters creating spectacular vistas everywhere you turn. This is the first time I truly felt as if I was walking through a real-life winter wonderland.

To make the experience even better, there were practically no tourists there at all. Despite the popularity of nearby ski resorts, Laghi di Fusine remained nearly empty. Something tells me that the situation would be very similar in the summertime as well.

Laghi di Fusine Are Easily Accessible

Getting to the Fusine Lakes in Italy is fairly easy. We drove through Slovenia and the trip was all highway until about 15 minutes outside of the lake when we drove through a number of ski villages. On the way, we stopped in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, for some coffee and breakfast before crossing over into Italy. It was just after the New Year, so there were still Christmas decorations around and plenty of holiday spirit in the air.

Laghi di Fusine are also easily accessible from Austria due to their proximity to the border and are only about a 2.5-hour drive from Zagreb, the capital of Croatia.

Once you arrive, you’ll first come upon Lago di Inferiore (the lower lake). You can either choose to park here, or drive a bit further and park in the parking lot by Lago di Superiore (the upper lake). Both parking lots are free, as is access to the lakes. We chose to park at Lago di Inferiore and then walked to the upper lake from there.

You Don’t Need to Be a Pro at Hiking

After parking your car, you can simply follow the marked path that circles the entire Lago di Superiore. Don’t worry if you don’t have much hiking experience – the path around the lake is mostly flat and easy to follow, making it a pretty easy walk (this is coming from a girl that completed the hike in Uggs). The path around the lake is about two kilometers long, so plan to spend at least an hour or hour and a half here (depending on your pace). Once you’ve hiked around the upper lake, make your way over to Lago di Inferiore through a connecting path. Instead of hiking around the lower lake, we chose to cozy up inside the lakeside cabin. Here, you can have lunch, coffee, or the best Italian Aperol Spritz you’ll ever sip. The cabin also has an outdoor terrace overlooking the lake that is surely a gorgeous spot to spend a warmer afternoon.

I still cannot believe it took me this long to discover these hidden lakes of Italy, but I’m so thrilled that something like this still exists! Have you heard of Laghi di Fusine before? Pin this post to your Travel Board to add the Fusine Lakes to your Italian itinerary.