Ljubelj - Srednji vrh (above Završnica) (on the slope of Vrtača)

Access to starting point:
We drive to the border crossing Ljubelj and right before it, we turn left onto a large parking lot below the chairlift to Zelenica.

Route description:
On one of the paths (marked mountain path, the path on a service road or on a border guard footpath) we ascend to the mountain hut on Zelenica. From the hut, we go some tens of meters in a gentle ascent on the path which leads to the cottage Koča pri izviru Završnice, and then we turn right onto a barely visible footpath which crosses a meadow (ski slope) and disappears in the woodlet on the opposite side. The turn-off on the path isn't marked, but the directional signpost you will spot just before stepping into the woodlet at the turn-off. This path leads to Vrtača (and Stol) and leads us all the time along the slope of Vrtača, initially in a sparse woodlet, later through dwarf pines and across scree slopes, moderately ascending and very panoramic. When we come to a fork, which is marked on a stone on the path and points right to Vrtača, left to Stol, we take the left path which leads towards Stol. From this fork onwards, the path is practically almost unmarked, but well visible and trodden. This path leads us mostly through dwarf pines, first almost horizontally, in the last part in a gentle descent, to the saddle Šija (saddle between Vrtača and Srednji vrh). Here there is a pole with old wooden directional signposts, which show the path in the direction of Vrtača and Stol. On the saddle, we take the footpath which leads left upwards to Srednji vrh (caution - there is another footpath there, which appears more trodden, but which leads along the slope downwards). The footpath is wide for the first few meters, but narrows significantly very quickly and remains so for most of the path. It leads us along the edge of the slope, smaller part in moderate, larger part in quite steep ascent. The footpath is otherwise easy to follow, but so narrow that at many places during walking we push away high grass and low bushes with our legs. Part of the footpath is covered with fine sand, there on steep sections caution is needed to avoid slipping. In less than half an hour from the saddle we arrive at a not very spacious summit, on which there is a logbook, but no stamp. The path is rewarded with wonderful views into the valley and on neighbouring peaks - Vrtača, Stol, Begunjščica, and of course also the more distant ones both in the Karawanks and in the Julian Alps and Kamnik Alps. We can return by the same path, or from the saddle Šija go downwards towards Zelenica or Smokuška planina (cottage Koča pri izviru Završnice). In the second case, there is first a considerable descent to the pasture, then again a considerable ascent to Zelenica.

Along the route: Koča na Vrtači (1288m), Dom na Zelenici mountain hut (1536m), Šija (1693m)

We recommend: trips from the same starting point, similar trips, panorama, summit register