Bridge over Dušica - Bajturn (Zaplaški hrib) (on ridge)

Access to the starting point:
a) From the Ljubljana - Novo mesto motorway, take the exit Trebnje East and then continue driving towards Velika Loka. After the settlement of Zidani Most, you will reach the settlement of Štefan pri Trebnjem, where you will take a sharp left in the direction of Zaplaz. After a few kilometres on a partly winding road, you reach Čatež, from where the road starts to descend towards the Mirna River. When you reach the valley, cross the bridge over the Dušica stream and park in a suitable place at the crossroads.
b) From Trebnje or Mokronog drive to Mirna and from there drive to Litija. Towards Litija, drive to a sharp right turn, and from there turn left towards Cirnik and Selska Gora. After Cirnik the road gradually starts to descend. When you reach the Mirna River, first cross the bridge and then turn left at the crossroads. From the crossroads, drive for about 200 metres to the bridge over the Dušica stream. Park in a suitable place at the crossroads.
c) Drive to Šmartno pri Litiji and from there continue to Gabrovka. After Moravče pri Gabrovki, after the transformer, turn slightly right towards the petrol station. Continue along the valley of the river Mirna. After the turnoff for Gornje Ravne, turn right, leaving the Mirna River, and you will reach the Dušica stream, where you will park at a suitable place on the roadside by the bridge over the stream.

Path description:
From the starting point at the bridge over the Dušica River, follow the macadam road, along which you will see signs for the pilgrims' route. Continue along the valley along the stream for a short distance, then at a small crossroads continue along the upper right-hand road. Continue along the road to the Dule homestead, where a waymarked path from the village of Okrog joins from the right.
Continue through the courtyard, then behind the house the road ends and the path continues on the less grassy cart track, which leads us across the hay field. A little further on, the path turns right, climbs a little more in passing, and then joins the wider cart track, which is followed to the left. Cart track leads us along the upper edge of the hayfield for a few minutes, then into the woods, where at a nearby crossroads we reach the Levstik Trail from Litija to Čatež.
Follow the path to the left, and follow it down two serpentine descents to a small stream, which you cross, and then continue through the forest. As you walk through the forest, the path leads you past several information boards on the Levstik Trail, and then, a little beyond a wooden cross, you emerge from the forest, where you cross the next stream. At the hunting observatory, continue left in the direction of the pilgrims' trail, then cross the woods to the asphalt road that leads through the village of Čatež, a few minutes away. Follow the road to the right and quickly reach a large parking lot behind the fire station.
From the parking lot, near which is also the destination of the Levstik Trail from Litija to Čatež, first climb up to the parish church of St Michael in Čatež, and from there, after the church, continue to the right and, at the Tončkov dom Inn, return to the main road, which you will reach at a marked crossroads. Continue up the main road, which leads past the bus station and the tourist map, and then, after 100 metres, turn right onto the steep road in the direction of Zaplaza. The road quickly bends to the left and leads to the edge of the forest, where there is a marked crossroads.
The right path leads to Zagrič and also to Bajturn and Zaplaz, and we continue on the asphalt road for another 10 steps, then the pilgrims' path sign directs us to a grassy path, which, with beautiful views, takes us up in a few minutes to the church at Zaplaz. From the church, walk to the other side, where you will find a large parking lot.
From the parking lot at Zaplaz, continue westwards to reach a marked crossroads at the end of the parking lot.
Continue straight ahead (the chapel with healing water on the right and Bajturn on the northern slope), passing the nearby farmhouse on the right. Behind the house, cart track immediately leads us to a beautiful lookout point, from which we have a nice view towards Dolenjska and the surrounding hills. Further on, cart track turns into a forest and climbs moderately along a ridge, and we notice a large number of information boards along the way. Slightly beyond the weather forecasting stone, at a small crossroads, continue slightly left (if you continue slightly right, you join the path on the northern slope), and the gently sloping path, which even descends slightly at times, leads you past a creche and a hunting lodge. At the crossroads behind the crossing, go slightly right and climb steeply. When the path returns to the ridge, it turns left and lays down. From here it is only a few minutes of gentle ascent and the forest path leads us to a wooded summit.
Description and pictures refer to the situation in 2016 (March).

On the way: Čatež (454m), Zaplaz (543m)

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