Hiking:

• H1 - MALA GORA AND SLEMEN TRAILS

• H2 - WOODENWARE AND PILGRIMAGE TRAILS

• H3 - BEAR TRAILS

• H4 - VERONIKA DESENIŠKA TRAILS

• H5 - ENERGY REFUEL IN THE WORLD OF THE KOLPA RIVER

• H6 - ALONG THE SOUTHERNMOST SLOVENIAN BORDER

• H7 - ŽUPANČIČEVA TRAIL

• H8 - BELA KRAJINA PARTISAN TRAILS

• H9 - THROUGH BEAUTIFUL AREAS OF BELA KRAJINA

• H10 - ALONG THE USKOK TRAILS

• H10.1 Through ferns and vineyards

• H11 - ALONG THE TRAILS OF MONKS

• H12 - OVER THE PLAIN ACROSS THE KRKA RIVER

• H13 - ALONG THE TRAIL FROM ŠMARJETA TO MOKRONOG

• H14 - THROUGH THE MIRNA VALLEY

• H15 - ALONG THE TREBNJE HILLS

• H16 - FOLLOWING THE VESTIGES OF KARSTIC TEMENICA

• H17 - ALONG THE SEVEN HILLS OF NOVO MESTO

• H18 - ALONG STRAŠKA GORA TO SUHA KRAJINA

• H19 - THROUGH THE KRKA RIVER VALLEY

• H19.1 - Cvinger archaeological trail

• H20 - ALONG THE KOČEVSKI ROG PLATEAU

• H20.1 -  Levstikova brigada walking trail

• H20.2 -  Plavica herbal trail

• H20.3 - Polhar trail

• H20.4 -  Trail to Base 20

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H4 - VERONIKA DESENIŠKA TRAILS

 

Kočevje - Fridrihštajn - Štalcerji - Kostel - Fara
 

We will set off along a medium-difficult route to the remains of the Fridrihštajn Castle and continue through the forests to the Kostel Castle and onwards to Fara. We can stop for Kočevje forest honey and Kostel rakija (brandy) along the way.

 

Trail length: 29.4 km.

This route is included in the package HTN 11

 SCHEMATIC MAP

The route begins with an ascent along the castle trail (marked as a greenish-white tower) to the top of Fridrihštajn (978 m) with the castle ruins in which the unlucky Veronika Deseniška and Count  Friderik, one of the Counts of Celje, lived.

We will continue our hike towards Livoldski vrh (981 m) and descend past the Štalcer Pass (586 m) along the old Roman road to the village Štalcerji (521 m). The trail to this point runs along karstic forest terrain and provides a lookout point below Livoldski vrh.

We will continue on and then cross the Kočevje-Petrina main road, walk through the village Štalcerji and along the old road and partially through meadows and the forest to the village Morava (542 m). There are several fields, meadows and hayracks before and behind the village providing scenic views of the southern slope of Stojna mountain, the Ajbik, Bolvik, Mošenik, Kapič, Krempo hills, Borovška mountain and the Goteniška mountain chain.

We will hike past the chapel in the southern part of Morava and continue southwards to the cart track along predominantly level karstic forest terrain, full of gardens and landslips to the edge of the basin known as Potok. This name is borne by an efflux of the Kopla River and three hamlets. The now-abandoned villages alongside the Jark or Potok efflux whose source is above Gorenji Potok, once called Jasternik due to the remote forest, still bear the local names of Pri Poljancu (Srednji Potok pod Suhorjem) and Lukovec (Dolenji Potok pod Podstenami).

We will then descend along the forest road to the hamlet Suhor (475 m). In Suhor a bee-keeper will be waiting for us. He will offer us various articles made from quality honey bearing the Kočevje forest honey label with the copyrighted mark of origin.

We will continue on to the  hamlet Podstene (356 m). On the opposite side and in the gable of this lateral valley of the Kolpa River, we can see the villages and hamlets Gorenji Potok, Friškova Draga, Rajšele, Banja Loka, and towards the valley bottom the ruins of the partially renovated Kostel Castle rise above the Kolpa River and the steep slope of the hills above the Kolpa River located in Croatia. Our route joins the “Kostel Castle trail” from the village Suhor to the fork at the village Stelnik.

The road soon nears the Potok stream and we will walk alongside it to the hamlet Gorenja Žaga ob Kolpi (208 m) with a snackbar and a camping site nearby. This is the lowest point of the Kočevje Alpine trail. We will continue along an asphalt road in the hill to a fork in the road and onwards for 5 minutes to Kostel (406 m). This encompasses the ruins of the partially renovated old and newer Kostel Castle with its church and old residential houses within the form of a market square.
Following a visit, we will return to the fork in the road and continue upwards through the hamlets Delač and Colnarji (460 m). We will cross the Kočevje-Petrina main road and on the opposite side walk along a less maintained steep cart track on the hill slope past the overgrown straw storage huts and the forest, ascending along the edge of the hill which its steep slopes leading down to the Kopla River. There is a lookout point here opening up to a scenic view of the south and Kolpa Valley and the hills on the Croatian side. Our route separates from the Kočevje Alpine footpath under the peak of Planica, marked with Knafel markings after which we will follow the green-yellow markings to the village Oskrt.

We will walk along the road to the village Vrh pri Fari. Here we can rest and obtain refreshments at the Lukčeva Homestead. We can also opt to conclude the day here for the Homestead provides accommodation, a picnic spot and sports facilities (volleyball, badminton, archery). There is also a lovely walking trail to the source of the Nežica stream and to the Tišenpolj Waterfall.

If we decide to continue our trip, we will first set off to the village Krkova nad Faro, cross the Kočevje-Petrina main road here and walk through the villages Padova pri Fari and Slavski Laz to the village Fara. There is a possibility for renting kayaks, canoes or rafts here for a ride along the Kolpa River. We can also enjoy sampling the Kostel delicacies at the Tourist Research Information Centre - TRIS. We can also spend the night at the Center šolskih in obšolskih dejavnosti in Fara upon prior arrangement.
 

Additional information about the trail:

Lowest point:	222.4 m
Highest point:	956.2 m
Total ascent:	1173.6 m
Total descent:	928.3 m
Estimated hiking time:	8 h