Vinja vas - Mehovski hrib (via Skala)

Access to the starting point:
a) Leave the Dolenjska motorway at the Novo mesto East exit, then follow the signs for Metlika. When Novo mesto ends, go through Dolnja Težka Voda, past Koroška vas, and then start climbing more visibly. After the rest area on the left, turn right towards Vinja vas and Podhrad. We then pass through Vinja vas, and park above the village in a suitable place next to the larger Chapel of Our Lady of Help of Christians.

b) From Bela krajina, drive to the Vahta Pass, then start descending towards Novo mesto. Leave the main road and turn left towards Vinja vas and Podhrad. Then drive through Vinja vas, and park above the village in a suitable place next to the large chapel of Our Lady of Help of Christians.

Path description:
In front of the chapel we see the start of a steep path, and we go to the other side of the chapel, where we see the start of a sloping path that takes us through the lane bushes into the forest. There is an easy cross-climb, and when we leave the forest we join a better-beaten path from the neighbouring village of Podgrad.

The way forward leads us past two benches (at the first one a shortcut branches off to the right), then makes a serpentine and leads us just a little further to a place where a difficult path "over the Rock" branches off to the left.
Continue left in the direction of the "over the rock" path (straight path), where you first start to climb steeply through the forest, and then arrive at the foot of a short cliff, where you continue slightly to the right (the path to the left bypasses the technically difficult part). A few 10 steps further on, you reach the first steel cable, which you use to start climbing up a shorter wall. After the steep part, the path turns left and continues to lead us, with the help of fixed safety gear, crosswise to the left. After crossing, there are only a few steps of ascent and we leave the protected part of the path, and we reach a nice lookout point, where there are also a few benches. From here it is another minute's climb and we reach Mehovski hrib, where there is a registration box with a registration book.
Description and pictures refer to the situation in October 2019.

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