Published on September 5th, 2025 | by Kayak Session
Introducing the Soča from Source to Sea – Paddling Guidebook
To properly know a river requires more than just paddling the best bit of whitewater. That’s like having a slice of cake and eating just the icing. Sure, it’s exciting, a rush and a treat, but you’ll never get the full flavour of the experience.
Leeway Collective, which manages the initiative Balkan River Defence (BRD), officially launched their Soča from Source to Sea – Paddling Guidebook in December 2024, and paddlers from Bulgaria to British Columbia have already cracked the cover of copies offered in three languages: English, Italian, and Slovenian. Its compact format (25 cm x 15 cm) makes it easy to bring along on the river, yet big enough to sit on your coffee table.
Written by BRD founder and biologist Rok Rozman, the guidebook explores the entire Soča River, from its alpine source in Slovenia to the Adriatic Sea in Italy, and can be purchased on the BRD webshop. The 216-page book combines paddling logistics with a deep dive into the river’s history, geography, and ecology. The first half of the guidebook reads like a monograph exploring the Soča’s flora and fauna, introducing over 70 species of birds, fish, mammals, and plants. The second half breaks the river into 14 paddling stages, providing practical paddling information like put-ins and take-outs (with QR codes for Google Maps), distance, whitewater difficulty, and approximate paddling time. Details on minimum, maximum, and optimal water levels are provided, along with maps highlighting campgrounds, restaurants, rapids, portage routes, and danger zones.
For whitewater lovers, the highlight is a stunning 100 cm folding photo map of the Katarakt, the river’s most challenging whitewater section, tucked neatly into the back cover.
Creating a guidebook for an iconic river like the Soča brings great responsibility, and the team behind it aimed to avoid contributing to over-tourism or environmental harm by focusing on three main goals. One priority was dispersing paddling traffic, as the Soča’s whitewater popularity often results in overcrowding, which puts pressure on the river’s ecosystem. By encouraging exploration of the entire river, the guidebook highlights lesser-known sections and helps relieve pressure on overused areas. Another focus was fostering an understanding of healthy river systems. Paddling the Soča from source to sea offers a comprehensive understanding of the ecological importance of rivers firsthand, revealing the impact of dams, hydropeaking, and irrigation. And finally, the guidebook promotes responsible river use by including tips for minimizing environmental impact, such as respecting fish spawning seasons and avoiding bird nesting areas.
The guidebook connects paddlers with the Soča’s hidden gems, local communities, and natural beauty. It encourages paddlers to discover sections they have not yet paddled, encouraging progression and exploration equally.
The book doesn’t ignore the recent controversy over the ticket prices for the use of the Soča. It addresses the history and current situation of the issue and is already generating discussion amongst decision makers. While working to find a solution, the team behind the book encourages paddlers to use this situation as a chance to explore different sections of the river – free to use and free from controversy which provides the peace and enjoyment we seek while paddling, and also sends a loud message to decisions makers that kayakers disagree with the decree and ticket prices and that the Soča is still a place of joy.
To learn more, visit: balkanriverdefence.org
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