Kozjak nad Pesnico - Sveti Križ (Gaj nad Mariborom)

Access to the starting point:
Take the road to Spodnja Kungota, then follow the road to Zgornja Kungota. At Kozjak nad Pesnico, turn left towards Gaj and Urban and then park in a suitable place. Preferably somewhere where the road turns into a forest.

Path description:
From the main road Lower Kungota - Upper Kungota, take the road leading to Gaj nad Mariborom and St. Urban. The path initially takes you across a flat area, and at the edge of the forest you continue along a wider road on the right. Go left for 50 m, then start climbing through the forest, and soon the signs direct you right on a footpath that ascends to the ruins of Pahle's Castle, which you pass on your left. After the castle, we gradually return to the asphalt road, which we then follow to a crossroads, where the path from Zgornja Kungota joins us from the right.
When we return to the forest, we leave the road again as the signs direct us to the right, where we climb steeply. A little further on the path is laid and in a few steps descends to the road, which is reached at a small crossroads.
Continue along the marked road, which continues through the forest for a few minutes, and when you leave the forest, continue along the ridge, where the path leads you past a few houses. Further along the ridge, you will again cross a slope and arrive at a triangular crossroads in the middle of which there is a sign.
Here, a marked path (road) branches off to the left, leading towards St Urban, and we continue straight ahead, passing the Nabašec homestead on the left. Here you descend slightly and then reach a marked crossroads where the road to St Urban branches off to the left.
Continue straight on here and just a little further on, at a small crossroads, go straight on again. There is a slight downhill, and then you reach the next marked crossroads, where you go left towards Bresternica (the right-hand carriageway to Gaj nad Mariborom) and then immediately right onto the road marked for Večernik's direction to Tojzlov vrh.
From the crossroads, cross the macadam road, and when you leave the forest, pass the Večernik homestead on your right. After the homestead, the road becomes passable, and we have a nice view from the road towards the Sveti Križ church in Gaj nad Maribor. The way forward leads us past a chapel, after which we return to the forest, through which we climb steeply. The steepness eases when we reach an asphalt road, which we follow to the left, and we quickly arrive in the village of Gaj nad Maribor. After a gentle climb through the village, we reach the cemetery, where we turn left, and just after the crossroads we reach the Sveti Križ church, where there is a registration box by the roadside.
Description and figures refer to the situation in November 2021.

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