Zagreb (Gračani) - Sljeme (Bikčevićeva staza)

Access to the starting point:
From the motorway, take the Zagreb-West exit, and then at the roundabout at the Billa shopping centre in Novi Zagreb, continue eastwards until the next roundabout, where you will turn in the route Zagreb-Centre. Continue over the bridge on the Sava River and you will be on Marina Držića Street. Just keep going through the underpass, past the bus stop and under the railway tracks until you reach Kvaternik Square. Here you will turn left west along Vlaška Street. Vlaška Street will start to climb after one slight right turn, we just keep going. Vlaška Street becomes Medvescak Street and becomes a dual carriageway. Go to the traffic lights, where you follow the signs for Gračani (there are also signs for the ski resorts on Sljeme along the road). Now go gently uphill all the way through Gračani. After the speed bumps you will see the entrance to the parking lot on the left (This parking lot is at the turning point of the tram line which ends at the top of Gračani. If you turn too late, there will be a short set of towers in the middle of the road). I recommend leaving your vehicle here, because the parking lots in Bliznec are always crowded and it is almost impossible to find a free parking space.
Zagreb is quite difficult to navigate. I recommend using a map and navigation.

Path description:
From the parking lot, head north down the stairs, then take the narrower road, which is closed to motor vehicles. This road will lead you to the attraction of this route, where you will pass through a short tunnel. It was built as the final exit of the Donja Stubica - Zagreb road through Medvednica, which was never completed. After leaving the tunnel, there is an unofficial shortcut, which is also asphalted, downhill, but the real road goes on. The path then takes us under the starting station of the former Sljemen cable car, which is no longer in operation, and we will exit the forest here back onto the asphalt and descend gently downhill to the huge parking lot by the Bliznec stream.
If it's not a weekend, it's possible to find a parking space here, but on a weekend it's so crowded already in the morning that there are no more free spaces. We keep going and reach the entrance to the Bikčević track, which is on the right and can't be missed. The path is steep for a short while at the beginning, then it flattens out and gently climbs above the Bliznec stream.
Along the way, short strips of stone and roots alternate. After a while the path will turn sharp right at a sharp and exposed bend to the east. After the bend is the first crossroads, where the path to the Bliznec brook branches off to the left, the Strmopeč viewpoint is on the right, and we go straight ahead. The path then turns imperceptibly northwards and gradually becomes a little steeper. At one point, the Strmopeći variant joins us from the right.
Somewhere halfway along the route is the Njivice rest area with a shelter where we can rest. Our route, which has been marked 18 so far, will become 19 (route 18 goes on to the Hunjka Pass). After Njivice, the route will become a bit steeper.
Our route changes to logging trail, where the ground becomes more difficult. We reach a belt of mixed forest, where the path will first lay down, but only for a few metres, and then it will get quite steep again. When you get to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the path will be flat again for a while.
There will now be some forks along the way. To the left there are some paths towards the Runolist mountain hut, and to the right there are a few more forks for the Hunjko Pass. Further on, the trail passes into a spruce forest and climbs very steeply up to the Pačkovski home, which is located in this part of Medvednica. In front of the lodge is the Rauchova lugarnica shelter, which is a bivouac in nature in which you can spend the night. For many mountaineers, the Pačkovski mountain hut is also the end point of the route, which also ends at the hut.
We will go on from the hut, crossing the road, and turn left to the west.
We are now on the ridge of Medvednica, where the path is constantly sloping. After some walking we will reach the asphalt, where we will pass the Snježna kraljica hotel, a small TV tower (the asphalt will end here), the Sljemenska kapelica church and finally we will reach the mountain crossroads above the Činovničko livad.
From here we continue west on a steeper path, cross a ski slope and after a while we are at the top of Sljemen, where there is a huge TV tower. A little further on, by the Vidikovac restaurant, we get a spectacular view to the north.

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