Polzela - Gora Oljka (via Vimperk)

Access to the starting point:
Leave the Štajerska motorway at the Šempeter exit, then follow the signs for Polzela. When you arrive at Polzela, turn right and park in the large parking lot next to the cemetery.

Path description:
From the parking lot we return to the main road, and then continue through the village, where the path leads us past the parish church of St. Marjeta of Antioch, the Municipality of Polzela, the Tuš shop, and along the pavement along the main road we walk to the right turn, where the road to the left turns off towards the Komenda Castle.

From the castle, which was marked in the past by the Sovereign Order of the Knights of Malta and which was thoroughly restored in 2011, continue along a side road, with signs along the way. A little further on, at a small crossroads, continue to the right of a nearby building and then return to the main road, which you follow to the left. Follow the road downhill a little and then, after the AS caffe restaurant and pizzeria, turn right onto Pot na Vimperk 3-16. Continue past individual houses and then the asphalt road starts to climb more visibly. At the Cizej-Sevšek farm you reach the Podvin pri Polzeli settlement, where you turn right at the crossroads, and a little further on, turn left onto the road, along which you see a sign. Behind a nearby house, the road turns into cart track, which ascends crosswise, and soon turns right onto a steeper footpath, which will take you in a few minutes to the Church of St Nicholas in Vimperk or Vinski vrh.
After the church, take the macadam road, which descends crosswise, and when you reach a small pass where the road turns right, leave it and continue straight on the marked footpath. A little further on, there is a slight descent where the forest ends, and along the way you can see the stations of the cross, which then accompany us on the way. There is a small climb towards Vimperk (442 m), and then, following cart track, you reach an asphalt road, which you follow to the right. Follow the asphalt road up to the "last" house, which you pass on the left, and then pass the old millstone on a cross path which gradually turns to the left. There is a little more crossing, and then a path joins from the right, which leads past the birthplace of a writer, poet, journalist. . . Neže Maurer.
Continue straight ahead, at first with beautiful views, and then by an older house you reach a macadam road that turns into a forest, and follow it to a marked crossroads, where you reach the road leading to Gora Oljka.
Continue along the road in the direction of Gora Oljka (the left road descends into the valley, the right road continues through the village of Dobrič), which quickly leads to a plague marker and a registration box. Here, the road forks off to the right to a marked parking lot and the Nasmeh Tourist Agency, and we continue straight ahead, walking along the tarmac road. Higher up, the road leads us along beautiful views, and at the former Jug guesthouse, the road from Podgora joins us on the left.
Continue along the road for another 10 metres, and then the signs for Gora Oljka direct you left to cart track, which turns into a forest. Continue through the forest, first on cart track, then on a slightly steeper marked path, which crosses cart track a few more times higher up, or occasionally continues on it. Higher up, after the sloping part, another path joins us from the right, which branches off the road higher up, and we continue to the left, arriving in a few minutes of moderate ascent at the Mountain Home on Mount Oljka, and after climbing the stairs to the Church of the Holy Cross.
Starting point - Komenda Castle 0:10, Komenda Castle - Vinski vrh 0:30, Vinski vrh - Gora Oljka 1:35.
Description and pictures refer to the situation in 2019 (January).

On the way: Grad Komenda (295m), Podvin pri Polzeli (400m), Vinski vrh (Vimperk) (448m), Vimperk (442m), Jug (530m)

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