Za koridorjem - Sabotin (direct way)

Access to the starting point:
From Bovec-Tolmin, take the Soška cesta towards Nova Gorica to the semaphore crossing above the cemetery in Solkan. Turn right here and take the bridge over the Soča River to Goriško Brda.

From the other directions, drive to Nova Gorica and follow the signs Bovec-Tolmin. If you go through Nova Gorica and Solkan, then at the end of Solkan turn left over the bridge over the Soca River to Goriško Brda. Passing Nova Gorica, follow the signs for Bovec-Tolmin and take the Solkan bypass road to the semaphore-controlled junction above the cemetery in Solkan.
Turn left here and then immediately right over the bridge over the Soča River to Goriško Brda.

The road starts to climb just after the bridge. After two major bends, we pass a parking lot on our left and 500 m further on our right we see steps leading to Sabotin on the southern route.
Shortly after the stairs we arrive in Itali, where the road is laid. After about 1 km of driving along the "corridor" through Itali, the road starts to descend under an overpass. Slow down at the bend, because as soon as you go under the next overpass, you arrive in Slovenia. Here you should immediately turn left into a small parking lot. On our right we see the steps leading to Sabotin on the path behind the corridor.

Path description:
Sabotin is a hill of special energies that will enchant you in all seasons. It is at its most beautiful in spring, when it is in full bloom, and in late autumn, when the hillsides are red with rust. In winter, its southern slopes will warm us up nicely with the sun, but in summer, it is too hot for the bluebells. The best time to visit Sabotin is from September to May. Later, only very early in the morning or by car. The asphalt road from Goriško Brda leads to the mountain hut and refreshment room, which are located in the former caravle just below the summit. The cafeteria has a mini-museum, and you can arrange a guided tour of the caves, which are illuminated and well-kept.

The path behind the corridor is less frequented than the more popular southern route. It is, however, more suitable for ascending Sabotin in spring onwards, when temperatures on the southern slopes quickly rise to stifling heat.
It is not as scenic as the southern route from the start, but it is slightly steeper than it.

Good footwear and plenty of fluids on warmer days will also be needed on this route, as Sabotin is not fatal because of its altitude, but because of its heat.

From the parking lot, cross the road and climb the steps. From the start, the path climbs quite moderately through a sparse forest, which offers some shade on warmer days.
When the path first bends after a few bends, you will see a small path on your right. This leads to a tarmac road on the Italian side, which leads from the village of Shentmaver/San Mauro to the Italian caravanserai at Sabotin. We can go a few steps closer to this road and use it for the return journey.

We continue our ascent along the normal path, which climbs up the bruni-backed slope and after a few minutes leads us to a cavern with an interesting arched entrance, where we turn left. If you follow the path to the right, you will reach the road from the village of Šentmaver in a few steps.
The path climbs from the cavern and after five minutes leads to a rocky bend where you have a beautiful view of the Soča River, which winds towards the sea, and the Oslavia ossuary (a white round building in the Italian Brda/Collio). After another 15 minutes, you arrive on a macadam path, where there is also a bench for a short rest. The dirt track comes from a nearby bend in the asphalted road leading to Sabotin from Goriško in Brda and after a few metres joins the road leading on the Italian side from Stentmavro. If you no longer feel like climbing the ridge from the hut or refreshment room on Sabotin, then follow the road down to this bend, where it joins the path behind the corridor.
From the crossroads by the bench, continue straight uphill. After a 10-minute steep climb, you reach the edge of a meadow that stretches off to the right towards the Italian caravelle. From spring to early summer, the meadow is a veritable botanical garden, but unfortunately it is becoming increasingly overgrown. If you want to admire the flowers, you can follow the path that climbs gently across the meadow to the right towards the Italian caravan and from here to the top, otherwise continue the climb to the top along the usual path on the Slovenian side. On this part of the trail, which rises higher up among the black oaks, you will also see honeysuckles in spring and later irises, lilies, orchids and other beautiful flowers. Just below the summit, cross the shooting trench, where in early spring you can also see the beautiful eucalyptus or auriculum. Sabotin is one of the lowest stands of this alpine flower in Slovenia.

At the top of the ridge, turn right and after a few minutes reach the top of Sabotin, from where beautiful views open up to the sky on all sides.
If you take the left path, you will reach the refreshment room and the mountain hut in the former caravle in 10 minutes.

You can head down the valley along the ridge or under the ridge to the Church of St Valentine.

From here we have two options:

Option 1:
If you follow the ridge to the Church of St Valentine, then follow the southern path past the former Our Tito sign. Follow the path for a few more bends until you pass the newly ploughed path. Continue along the old path to the next crossroads, where it turns left and we continue straight on past a large rock, where we are soon on the Italian side of the hill. The path ascends and descends gently until it leads to a log cabin. From here onwards we descend gently along the cart track to a crossroads at a larger rock, where we continue upwards to the right. Down to the left, join the southern route.
The path on cart track ascends gently to the road leading out of Šentmavr. Continue down the road to the 3rd bend / tornante, where a path joins the corridor path just below the cavern with the arched entrance.
Option 2:
From the summit, follow the path below the ridge to cart track, which leads from St Valentine's Church. Here, instead of turning right towards the road and the bench at turn 5, take a few steps to the left (in the route of the church) and follow the marked path descending from cart track to the right. The path is laid at the bottom and later splits into two parts. If you turn left, you will join the southern path below the former Our Tito sign. From here continue as described under option 1.

Going right, the path will soon start to descend very steeply on rocky terrain to a track leading off the southern path as described under option 1. Continue to the right and you will soon reach a log cabin. From here on, descend gently along cart track to a crossroads by a large rock, where continue right upwards. Down to the left, join the southern trail. The path cart track ascends moderately to the road leading from Šentmavr. Continue down the road to the 3rd bend / tornante, where a path joins the path beyond the corridor just below the cavern with the arched entrance.

No big deal if we forgot where to turn and arrived almost at the end of the southern route. Instead of turning left onto the path leading to the stairs on the southern path, continue straight on the marked path leading from the village of Šentmaver. After a few minutes of descending, you will reach a narrower road leading above the corridor of the road to Goriško Brda. Continue to the right and cross the road to the end of the corridor. Here you join the road leading to Sabotin from the village of Šentmaver. Follow the road to the right uphill for a few metres and then follow cart track, which can be seen on the left-hand side. After a few minutes of crossing the slope, you reach the Slovenian side on the path behind the corridor. From here it is only a short descent to the parking lot.

There is also a path above the road corridor (behind the second wire fence), but it is very overgrown in places, so it is easier and quicker to cross the corridor by road.

We can extend the trip to the following destinations: Dom na Sabotinu

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