Otočec - Sveta Marija (Trška Gora) (via Stari grad)

Access to the starting point:
a) From the Ljubljana - Obrežje motorway, take the Novo mesto - East exit, then continue driving towards Otočec. Continue along the old road towards Brežice, then quickly reach the crossroads, where you turn right towards the settlement of Lešnica. After Lešnica we arrive at Otočec, and we drive to the other side of the settlement, where we park in the parking lot next to the cemetery.
b) From the Obrežje - Ljubljana motorway, take the Kronovo exit (exit 28), then continue driving in the direction of Otočec Castle. Also from the nearby roundabout, continue in the direction of the exit for Castle Otočec. Continue along the old road towards Novo mesto, then turn right after the Petrol station in the familiar direction. There are two successive crossroads where you go left twice, then right after the underpass in the direction of Otočec (left Castle Otočec). There is about 1 km of driving and then you arrive at Otočec, where you park in the parking lot next to the cemetery.

Path description:
From the starting point, continue past the church and continue along the road towards Novo mesto for some time. Soon you will reach a chapel, where the road to Ratež and Gumberk branches off to the left, and then at the next crossroads, some 10 steps away, continue to the right past the NOB memorial. Continue through the underpass, then on the other side of the underpass continue left (Paha and Herinja vas on the right). At the next crossroads continue right, then walk past the Hočevar confectioner's shop, past the Otočec primary school and along the fields to reach the end of Otočec and a few steps further on to an unmarked crossroads.
Continue straight ahead, following the road as it descends to an underpass under the motorway (you can reach Trško Gora on the left). On the other side of the underpass, the road turns right, and then a slight uphill climb takes you in a few minutes to a place where you leave the asphalt road. From the road, turn left towards the Castle Forest Nature Trail and the S cvičko trail between the vineyards. From the meadow, the path quickly turns into the forest, through which it starts to climb moderately. In a few minutes of moderate and at the upper part of the cross-climb, you reach the lookout point and the Old Castle, which is owned by Krka d. d.
After the castle, the road gently descends and then leads to the settlement Zagrad pri Otočcu, where you continue straight past the ecological island. The way forward leads past a small hamlet, where the road to Becelet's cave branches off to the right, and we continue straight on and then, behind the arranged allotments, we continue to the left in the direction of Trška Gora. The way forward leads us over a small bridge, crossing the stream Lešnica, and then the path soon passes into the forest, where at the crossroads follow the markings. After an initial climb, there is a short descent to a less well-marked crossroads, where you continue straight on to a hayfield, where you follow the old, grass-covered cart track, which is difficult to follow. As you climb to the top of the meadow you reach another road, which you reach just at a small crossroads. From the crossroads continue straight on to a "side" road, from which you go immediately left into the woods. Climb through the woods for a few minutes, then reach one of the houses, and a few steps further on an asphalt road. The road climbs towards Trška Gora, with beautiful views of the vineyards and Žumberačka gora on the other side of the Krka River. Higher up, the asphalt ends, and we continue straight ahead or slightly to the right at a few crossroads. When we see the Church of St. Mary on Trška Gora relatively close by, we first turn right for a few 10 metres and then continue left on a narrow asphalt road that climbs through the forest. The road ends at a nearby house, and we continue straight ahead, following the path that continues higher up along the fence. We then follow this path all the way to the Church of St Mary on Trška Gora, which offers a fine view. Description and figures refer to the situation in 2016 (June).

On the way: Stari grad nad Otočcem (250m)

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