Vipava at Miren (Pri Selu weir)
Near Miren a weir at the hamlet Pri Selu (not the village Selo near Batuje) backs up the Vipava for a couple of kilometres, past Vrtoče up to the next weir at Bilje. Mid-channel there is little life apart from many freshwater mussels; most fish – shoals of small fish and well-fed carp – live in the dense weed along the banks. Deeper pools reach about 6 m with cooler, clearer water. Visibility is the big drawback: around 1 m in summer, sometimes under half a metre, which is why the sheet rates it P2.
Facts
- Region: Slovenia – Lakes, Rivers & Caves
- Area: Vipava valley & Karst (Škocjan)
- Depth: 0–6 m
- Level: intermediate
- Current: low
- Type: channel
- Coordinates: 45.8842, 13.60858
- Highlights: weir pool stretching ~2 km to Bilje, freshwater mussels, carp in the weed beds, shoals of small fish, dark-green algae on rocks, small jetty with ladder at Vrtoče
- Tips: From the Vrtojba border crossing head south towards Miren, turn left at the roundabout towards Bilje, right after the Vrtojbica bridge into Orehovlje, then follow the field track south to the river and the picnic area by the weir; park on the track bend. Enter and exit on the weir, swim upstream and return the same way; after ~1 km (about an hour) a small jetty with a ladder at Vrtoče lets you rest. Carry a compass, a torch for the deeper pools and a snorkel for a surface return. Best at medium-low water; current is usually imperceptible; too murky for night dives. The SPZ sheet dates from 2012; river gravel, banks and access roads may have changed since.