Čatež - Bajturn (Zaplaški hrib) (on ridge)

Access to the starting point:
a) From the Ljubljana - Novo mesto motorway, take 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 Zaplaza. After a few kilometres on a partly winding road, we reach Čateža, where the road to Zaplaz turns off to the left, and we descend a little further on the main road and then park in the large parking lot between the Čatež Cultural Centre and the fire station.
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 river Mirna, first cross the bridge and then turn left at the crossroads. After the crossroads, the road slowly starts to climb and then leads to Čatež, where you park in a large parking lot near the Cultural Centre Čatež.
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 and leave the Mirna River and start climbing towards Čatež. When you arrive in Čatež, park in the large parking lot between the fire station and the Čatež Cultural Centre.

Path description:
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 along the asphalt road for another 10 steps, and then a sign for the pilgrims' path directs us to a grassy path, which takes us up to the church at Zaplaz in a few minutes, with beautiful views.
From the church, walk to the other side and enter the 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 beautiful 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: Zaplaz (543m)

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