Sviščaki - Snežnik (via Mali Snežnik)

Access to the starting point:
a) From Cerknica or Nová vas na Bloki, first drive to Bloška Police and from there continue in the direction of Loš and Babne Polje. At Pudob, turn right in the direction of Snežnik, Ilirska Bistrica, Knežak and the nearby settlement of Kozarišče. In Kozarišče, turn slightly left in the direction of Snežnik and follow the road in the direction of Snežnik at the following junctions. When Kozarišče ends, the asphalt also ends, and we continue to the left in the direction of Mašun and Knežak, just after the bridge over the Malá Obrh. A long drive on a dirt road follows, and after about 19 km from Kozarišče we reach a crossroads where the road from Mašun joins from the right. Here, continue left in the direction of Sviščaki, which is about 10 km away on macadam, and at the crossroads follow the signs for Sviščaky. After about 29 km of dirt road, you will reach the Mountain Home at Sviščaki, where you park.
b) Drive to Pivka and from there continue to Knežak. At Knežak, at the marked crossroads, turn left in the direction of Masun and the settlements Bač and Koritnicee. A little further on, go right in the direction of Masun and Koritnice (straight ahead Bač). After Koritnice the road starts to climb more visibly, and then after 18 km from the main crossroads in Knežak it leads to Masun, from where you continue driving right in the direction of Sviščaki, where you have about 12 km of macadam road to go. When you reach the Mountain Home at Sviščaki, park.
c) First drive to Ilirska Bistrica, then continue to Sviščaki (the turnoff is in the middle of Ilirska Bistrica and is marked, it may be a little less visible). Initially, the asphalt road is climbed, then after about 12 km of climbing, the asphalt is replaced by macadam. There is another 7 km or so of macadam, and then you reach a junction near the Mountain Home on Sviščaki, where you continue straight on to the nearby Mountain Home, where you park.

Path description:
On the opposite side of the road from the Mountain Lodge at Sviščaki, we see the mountain markers for Snežnik and a view of Snežnik, which direct us to the macadam road, which continues without change in elevation through the meadow. On the other side of the meadow, the path leads past a water reservoir, and beyond it the path turns slightly left into the forest, through which it climbs moderately. After a short climb, you reach another road, which you follow to the right, and after passing a few holiday cottages, you reach a wider macadam road, which you follow to the left (on the right the main road Ilirska Bistrica - Sviščaki). There is an easy climb up the wider macadam road, which is followed for about 10 minutes to a marked crossroads where the path to the viewpoint "View of Snežnik" branches off to the left, and a marked footpath continues to the right, leading to Snežnik.
Continue along the road, which continues to lead through the forest, and quickly pass the abyss to reach the marked crossroads below Lom, located at 1330 metres above sea level.
Here again, continue straight ahead (you can join the aforementioned footpath on the right-hand road or continue to the hunting lodge in Travni dolci, from where it is also possible to climb to Snežnik, but the route is not marked) in the direction of Snežnika along the road. Higher up, some views open up, and then we reach the next crossroads (in the descriptions, the starting point is Snežnik Grda jama), where we continue along the lower left road (the usual route to Snežnik is along the right road).
On the lower road, which we follow, we first walk past a parking lot and then continue along a road that is closed to public traffic (there is a chain across the road next to a sign). We continue parallel to the upper road for a short distance, and then our road turns more to the left and leads us past Snežnik Ugly cave. After a few minutes of crossing, we join the marked path from Grda Draga, where we continue to the right.
Continue in the direction of Snežnika, following the path which continues through the dense forest. Cross a small clearing at a higher level, then return to the forest and the path begins to climb cross-climbing to the left. After a few minutes of cross-climbing, you reach a marked crossroads where the path from Mašun joins. Continue again in the direction of Snežnika, this time on a slightly steeper path that leads past the memorial. Above the memorial, we get our first extensive view, stretching across the Nanos to the Alps. We continue our ascent along the path that leads us through dwarf pines. When the steepness subsides, we reach the old trigonometric point stone, located at the top, or a few steps below the top of Mali Snežnik, from where we can see Veliki Snežnik, Istria, Primorska, Notranjska, etc.
From Mali Snežnik we continue along the path which descends, barely noticeably, along the unmarked eastern ridge of Mali Snežnik. The trail then passes to the western and very scenic ridge of the Big Snežnik, along which it continues mostly in a gentle to occasionally moderate ascent. A little further on, the Matetova trail joins us from the right, and a little further on, the usual trail from Sviščakov.
At both crossroads continue straight ahead, then ascend the steeper slope of Veliki Snežnik, which is dangerous to slip on in the snow. After a few minutes, you reach the Shelter on Veliki Snežnik, before which you continue left and climb in a few steps to the 1796 m high summit.
Description and pictures refer to the situation in 2015 (October).

On the way: Križišče pod Lomom (1330m), Mali Snežnik (1694m)

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