Zvodno - Tolsti vrh above Celjska koča (via Marija)

Access to starting point:
From the Ljubljana - Maribor highway, take the Celje - center exit and continue driving in the direction of Laško and Zidani Most. The road leads us through the center of Celje, then before Savinja brings us to a roundabout with a fountain. Here we continue "straight" over the first bridge (direction Laško and Zidani Most) and follow the road to the next traffic-light intersection, where we continue left over the second bridge over Savinja. Immediately behind the bridge at the intersection we continue right. After approx. 500 meters we arrive at the underpass under the railway track (on the right side large parking lot and starting point in Zagrad), drive through it and continue straight past the fire station in Zagrad. We follow the road through the village, and higher in Zvodno it brings us to a smaller intersection at the bus stop, where we notice signs and signposts for Grmada right, Hudičev graben straight, parking lot 1.2 km straight. We continue straight towards the new parking lot (2020), and the road gradually flattens and narrows. New parking lot - our starting point is located right by the road before the fish farm. Here we can park and go on a trip on paths that lead either past Marija, or through Hudičev graben, or through Suhi potok. To the starting point we can also come from Dolenjska and Zasavje. In this case, we first drive to Rimske Toplice and then through Laško to the above-described second bridge, from where we continue in accordance with the description.

Path description:
From the starting point signposts for Hudičev graben direct us first on the road past the supporting wall back towards Celje, already after a few steps sharply to the left on a cart track that leads into the forest. We follow the cart track about 100 meters to the junction just before the ravine, where we leave the path into the gorge of Hudičev potok stream and continue to the left towards Pečovje or. Marija. We follow the marked forest path all the way to the next junction at the edge of the forest, where to the right we join the Celje mountain trail (CPP) on the forest road coming from the direction of Celje. Soon we encounter a new junction, where from the left joins Barbarina pot from the direction Štore. We continue straight on the forest road by the homesteads and from here onwards for quite some time follow signposts for Barbarina pot. Somewhat higher a narrower forest path branches off to the left, which begins to ascend somewhat more steeply. Higher, before the junction under Marija, some wire ropes also help us, more in the function of a fence than a grip. At the junction CPP signs direct us to Srebotnik, we continue according to the signpost of Barbarina pot to the left slightly downhill, past the chapel with the image of Mary carved into the wall of Srebotnik, then slightly uphill on a wide forest path, partly also wire ropes. At the next junction we cross the forest road and continue along the ridge according to the blazes and signposts of Barbarina pot. When higher we bypass a pleasant clearing, we reach a new junction, where Barbarina pot branches off to the left towards Almin dom, we continue to the right on the forest road towards Tovsti vrh. The path flattens and soon joins a new asphalt road that leads from Svetina towards Celjska koča. We follow the road, to which a few meters further also the CPP path from the direction of Srebotnik joins, for only about 100 - 200 meters. Then we leave the road and according to signposts towards Tovsti vrh continue on a shorter cart track through the forest, then on the forest road. Further by the only homestead in this part we follow the path uphill across the meadow and from the eastern direction reach Tovsti vrh. The viewpoint is located a few dozen meters further towards the west, from where the Posavje hills are visible in the southern and western direction.

On the way: Srebotnik (700m), Almin dom na Svetini (772m), Hotel Celjska koča (652m), Pečovniška koča on Grmada (620m)