Sveti Križ (Planica) - Žigartov vrh

Access to the starting point:
Leave the Štajerska motorway at exit Fram and follow the signs for Fram. When you reach the main road Slovenska Bistrica - Maribor, continue straight ahead from the semaphoreised intersection into the centre of Fram. Continue through the village, and when you reach the parking lot under the parish church of St Anne, continue along the left-hand road, passing the church on your left. A little further on, go right at the cemetery and then start climbing steeply. At a higher altitude you will reach the village Kopivnik, and we continue along the road towards the village of Planica, where we follow the signs for the church Sveti Križ, which we park next to.

Path description:
On the north-east side of the church, to the left of the games, you will see cart track, which is the starting point. After a few steps, continue slightly to the left (take the right-hand path down to the tarmac road that led to the starting point) and then climb for a few minutes cross-country through the woods. When you leave the forest, the slope drops into a small valley, and we continue along the left edge of the pasture and climb along it to the asphalt road, where we reach the marked trail Fram - Ruška koča na Arehu and follow it to the left.
Continue along the road for a short distance, and when the road makes a long right turn, turn left off the road onto the waymarked path, which climbs alongside the power lines. At a higher level, you reach a narrower tarmac road, where you go right, and at a junction with a priority road, go left. The way ahead leads past a small hamlet, then the road returns to the forest, where signs soon direct you to the right on a footpath towards Areh. Follow the signs through the forest at a number of crossroads, and the path leads you first past a cross, and then higher up past the NOB memorial, near which there is another cross.
Here you will also come out onto an asphalt road, which you will quickly leave and continue right into the forest, where you will follow signs at crossroads, and higher up you will reach the main asphalt road and follow it to the left.
Follow the main road to a crossroads where the road to Hotel Zarja branches off to the right.
Continue slightly left along the marked path towards Areh (the main road continues to the left, Hotel Zarja to the right) and continue cross-climbing along cart track. At the crossroads, continue straight ahead and continue climbing cross-country, and a little beyond the hunting observatory you will reach a marked crossroads, where you will reach a wider path leading from Mariborska koča towards Ruška hut na Arehu.
Continue left and climb gently along the macadam road, which leads past several burial sites. After a while, we return to the main road, continue along it for a short distance, and then turn slightly left onto a footpath, which quickly leads to the Church of St. Areth.
From the church, cross the meadow and you are at the Ruška hut on Areh.
From the hut, turn right towards Žigartov vrh and walk to the asphalt road, where you turn left and then continue along the road towards Šumik, Cojzerica and Žigartovemu vrh. At first, the path still leads along a large parking lot, then the road goes into the forest and climbs gently. After about 10 minutes of further walking, you arrive at a marked crossroads, where the path to the left branches off towards the Šumik waterfall and Bajgot. Continue straight ahead on the wider macadam road, from which turn left for a minute or so, as the signs for Žigartov vrh direct you left onto a worse forest road, which leads you up to the nearby ski resort. Continue along the edge of the ski slope, and higher up the path goes slightly left and into the forest. Continue through the forest, following the signs, and follow this path until you reach the summit, a few minutes away.
Starting point - Ruška koča 2:15, Ruška koča - Žigartov vrh 0:30.
Description and pictures refer to the situation in March and May 2022.

On the way: Ruška koča na Arehu (1246m)

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