Cerkno - Medrce (via Labinjske lehe)

Access to the starting point:
a) From the regional road Idrija - Tolmin, at the village of Straža in the hamlet of Želin, turn right at the semaphore-controlled intersection in the route Cerkno (turn left if coming from the route Tolmin). Continue along the valley of the river Cerkno, past the Petrol station until you reach Cerkno, where at the crossroads behind the Church of St. Jernej (there is also a cemetery and a parking lot next to the church), turn left in the direction of Železniki, the ski resort Cerkno, the Franja Hospital and the centre of Cerkno. At the next marked crossroads, turn left towards Zakojca and Gorje. If you have not parked at the church before, you can park a little further away from the NOB monument in one of the car parks in Cerkno.

b) From the road Škofja Loka - Žiri, after the settlement Trebija turn right in the direction of Sovodnja and Cerkno (from the direction of Žiri turn left before Trebija), from where you first go to Sovodenj, and from there over the pass Kladje (the pass is located in the settlement Podlanišče) start descending towards Cerkno. At the first major crossroads in Cerkno, go straight on (right to reach the point centre and St Anne's Church), and then at the second crossroads, about 300 m further on, turn right in the direction of Železniki, the Cerkno ski resort, Franja Hospital and the centre of Cerkno. Cerkno is the first major crossroads in Cerkno, and the first crossroads in Cerkno is the first crossroads in Cerkno. At the next marked crossroads, turn left towards Zakojca and Gorje and then park in one of the car parks in Cerkno.

c) From the road Škofja Loka - Podbrdo, at Zali Log, turn left in the direction of Davča and the ski resort Cerkno (if coming from Podbrdo or Soriška planina, turn right at the end of the resort). The road continues up to Davča and then starts descending towards Cerkno. In the centre of Cerkno, turn right at the post office, then park in a suitable place a little after the NOB monument.

Path description:
From the centre of Cerkno continue in the direction of Zakojca and Gorij, where you walk along the pavement, and at the NOB (National Liberation Monument) go right over the bridge over the Zapoška stream. Continue along Jerebova Street, passing the Monika hairdressing salon, and then the signs for Trebenče and the Franja Hospital direct you left onto a narrower street (Pot na Brce). When a cobbled path opens up on the right, continue along it, and then climb above Cerkno, following the cobbled path all the way to the larger NOB memorial.

After the monument, follow cart track, which climbs over a partly grassy slope, and after the transmitters you reach an asphalt road. Continue straight ahead on the initially still asphalted road, which leads to another house higher up. After the house, continue along the marked mountain path, and a little further along the right-hand side, go around another house. Continue uphill towards the Franja Hospital, and the path takes you through the forest for a while. When you leave the forest, turn left and follow cart track up to the settlement Labinje, where the trail splits.

Continue left in the direction of Porezno (downhill to the right is the Franja hospital), and from the road go just a little further to the right and cross over a shorter steeper slope. After two minutes of climbing, the path is laid and you cross an asphalt road and continue in the direction of Porezno, the path leading you along the courtyard of a nearby house. The path ahead leads us along cart track, at a small crossroads go slightly right, and behind a fence the path passes into the forest and gradually turns into a mountain path. There is a slightly longer cross-climb, and when you reach the macadam road, follow it to the right for a few steps, and then the signs direct you left to cart track, which returns to the forest. Follow the signs through the forest at the crossroads, and the path becomes steeper higher up and crosses a dirt road. A little further on, the dirt road is reached once more, and we follow the signs for Porezen at two successive crossroads, where we first join the path from Poč, and a few steps further on, the path from Dolenji Novaki.

After the crossroads, we immediately leave the forest and arrive at the hayfields of Labinjske lehe, from where a beautiful view of Cerkljansko opens up, and the view extends all the way to the Krim, Snežnik and the Trnovski Forest.

At the upper part of the hayfield, the path turns slightly left and passes onto the slopes called Počanska gora. There is a slight to moderate cross-climb to the left, and we walk along a well-maintained path, which is well guarded and easy to follow on the short, steep terrain.
After the guarded part, the path splits and we continue on the lower path (winter direction on the right), which continues to climb transversely. Later, the slope becomes steeper and the path climbs steeply with the help of log steps. The path quickly descends to reach the Homa ridge, where the path from the Cerkno ski slope joins from the right.
Continue in the direction of Porezno and descend quickly to the saddle Velbnik, where the hunting lodge at Šaš is visible on the left.
From the saddle Velbnik, where the forest road leading to Dom na Poreznu is quite close, we climb through a narrow lane of a forest, and then, crossing a pasture fence, the path splits.
Continue on the ascending path (the left path bypasses the summit of Medrce and is not marked, but is slightly shorter, and leads further towards Porezen), and in 10 minutes you will climb to the viewpoint of Medrce, from where you will have a beautiful view of Porezen.
Cerkno Labinje 1:00, Labinje - Labinjske lehe 1:00, Labinjske lehe - Velbnik 1:15, Velbnik - Medrce 0:10.
Description and images refer to the situation in July 2020 and October 2018.

On the way: Labinjske lehe (962m), Labinje (628m), Velbnik (1331m)

We can extend the trip to the following destinations: Dom na Poreznu ( 50 min), Porezen ( 45 min)

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