Globasnitz - Wackendorfer Spitze

Access to starting point:
A) Via the Jezerski vrh border crossing we drive into Austria, then after approximately 6 km past Železno Kaplo / Bad Eisenkappel we turn right towards Velikovec / Völkermarkt. We follow the main road towards Velikovec for 2 km, then we turn right again, this time in the direction of the settlement Pliberk / Bleiburg. Further on we drive through the Podjune valley, then signs for Globasnica / Globasnitz direct us right onto a local road, along which after another 2 km of driving we arrive in the centre of the village, where we park on a large parking lot. From the Jezerski vrh border crossing to the starting point it is approximately 33 km.
B) From Dravograd or Slovenj Gradec we drive to Ravne na Koroškem, then we continue driving towards the Holmec border crossing. Once we enter Austria we first drive towards Pliberk / Bleiburg, then we follow the signs for Globasnica / Globasnitz. After approximately 13 km from the Holmec border crossing we arrive in Globasnica, where we park on a large parking lot near the local church.

Path description:
From the large parking lot in Globasnica we continue towards the end of the village, where we soon join the "main" road which leads almost unnoticeably upwards towards the neighbouring village. When we get to Podroje / Podrain, we continue for a short time on the road which leads towards Podpeci / Koprein Petzen, and then signs with the caption "Wandersteg-Petzen" and "Wackendorfer Alm" point us to the left on a narrower road, on which we quickly get to the "last" house in the village.
At the mentioned house we leave the road and continue the ascent on a grassy cart track which quickly passes into a strip of forest. After a gentle ascent through the forest we get to a strip of bushes and ferns, through which we ascend on a usually nicely mowed path. A little higher it joins a macadam road, we follow it to the right and walk along it to a slight left bend, in the middle of which a marked footpath branches off to the right towards Veška planina / Wackendorfer Alm. After a short ascent, we cross a poorer forest road, then the path passes into a dense forest, through which it starts to ascend steeper and steeper. Next follows a long and relatively steep path, which most of the time leads us through a dense forest, only occasionally opening up some views towards the neighbouring Topica, Junska gora and Obir. Higher we touch the mountain road, which we immediately leave and continue the ascent sharply to the right on a footpath which continues ascending through the forest. Further we cross a shorter panoramic slope, from which a nice view opens up towards Golica and the Podjune valley. The path ahead temporarily returns to the forest, then joins the previously mentioned road. We continue about 50 to 100 m along the road, then past a gate which prevents further driving we arrive at Veška planina.
To Veška planina we can also arrive via the mountain road from Podgore / Untrebergen (toll 6 EUR, July 2011). This shortens the route by approximately 3 hours.
From the mountain pasture we continue on an initially poorly visible path which continues between the chapel and the hut. The path first rises moderately, then temporarily levels out and crosses the slope to the left. The trail then widens and ascends to the nearby cart track, which we follow to the right. We walk along the road for a short time, then the marks direct us slightly to the right onto a footpath which ascends parallel to the road. The marked path returns to the cart track right at the spot where it ends.
We continue along the right side of the water trough and for a short time along the bottom of an indistinct little valley, then the path turns left and ascends across a panoramic grassy slope, where the trail temporarily disappears. When we step onto the grassy slope we continue right and start to ascend steeply. Higher the trail levels out and brings us to a strip of dwarf pines. The path ahead leads past a smaller wooden "shelter", then it starts to ascend a little steeper towards the summit of Veška kopa / Wackendorfer Spitze, whose peak we reach after a few minutes of further walking.

On the way: Wackendorfer Alm (1568m)

Trip can be extended to: Končnikov vrh (1 h) , Feistritzer Spitze ( 15 min) , Petzen (Kordeschkopf) (Peca (Kordeževa glava)) (1 h 45 min)