Branik - Trstelj (by cart track)

Access to starting point:
A) From the highway Ljubljana - Koper, we take the exit Senožeče, then we continue driving in the direction of the village Štorje. In Štorje, we continue right in the direction of Branik (straight Sežana and Trst) and further we drive through the villages Kazlje, Dobravlje and Ponikve. At the crossroads a few kilometers after Ponikve, we continue right towards the village Kobdilj (left Kopriva and Dutovlje), from there we follow the signs for Štanjel and Branik. After a few kilometers of descent, we arrive in Branik, where from the left the road from Komen also joins. Only a little further from the mentioned crossroads, on the right we will notice a larger parking lot, where we park (the parking lot is located near the post office and Mercator store).
B) First, we drive to Ajdovščina, then we continue driving on the old road towards Nova Gorica. When we arrive at the settlement Potoče, we leave the main road and continue left in the direction of Branik. The road quickly brings us to the bridge over the river Vipava, after which it gradually becomes more winding. After a short ascent, a shorter descent follows and we arrive in Branik. When we reach the main road, we continue left and then after some 10 meters of further driving, we turn left onto a larger parking lot (the parking lot is located near the post office and Mercator store).
C) From Nova Gorica or its surroundings, we drive to Dornberk, from there we continue driving in the direction of Branik. We park in the center of Branik on a larger arranged parking lot (the parking lot is located near the post office and Mercator store).

Path description:
From the parking lot, we continue on the sidewalk, which leads us along the main road towards Štanjel, Koper and Sežana, next to it we notice several monuments, including the monument to Simon Gregorčič. A little further at the pedestrian crossing we cross the main road, then we continue in the same direction. At a somewhat larger crossroads, we continue straight in the direction of Komen (slightly left along the main road Štanjel, Koper and Sežana), we walk on the sidewalk for a few more minutes, then the signs for the railway station direct us right onto a somewhat narrower road. Along the road towards the railway station, we walk to the first right bend, from there we continue straight towards the furniture factory bor-Les.
From bor-Les, we continue straight on a poorer road, which quickly brings us to the foot of the railway line. Here the road turns left and continues parallel to the line for a short time, then turns right, leading us under a separate bridge. Immediately after the bridge, we go right on a wider cart track, which a few 10 steps further turns left and begins to ascend transversely (the path up to here was not marked, further on we will be accompanied by "markings" in the form of a red circle in the middle of which is a green butterfly). Further, we ascend transversely above the Petnik stream, the path higher brings us to the ridge, where from the right another path from Branik joins (path past the hamlet Cvetrož). From the junction, we walk along the ridge a few more steps, then we arrive at the place where the cart track splits into two parts. We continue on the right cart track (the left leads directly to the village Pedrovo and is better marked), which immediately splits again. At the second junction, we continue left, then somewhat higher slightly right (straight also possible). Further, we moderately ascend through the forest on the cart track, which higher joins another cart track. Here we continue left to the nearby abandoned hut, where we notice a marking. Behind the hut, the cart track descends temporarily and approaches the bed of the Petnik stream again. We cross the mentioned stream in a long arc, then on the other side we begin to ascend transversely towards the village Pedrovo, which we reach after a few minutes of further walking. When we come to the village, we reach it at the last house, we continue right (left Church of the Holy Spirit 3 minutes) and continue the ascent on a somewhat wider cart track, which gently to moderately ascends through the forest. Further, the cart track splits several times, we continue on the "main" or the marked one (the markings are occasionally quite rare). Higher, we reach a poorer road (firebreak - intervention road no. 14P), along which we begin to descend moderately. Somewhat further, from the slope we pass into a smaller valley, where we continue right upwards on an initially less distinct cart track. The path ahead continues for a short time across a panoramic meadow, then quickly brings us to the abandoned Slavčeva bajta hut. We bypass the mentioned hut on the left side and continue on the poorly marked cart track, which rises and falls several times. At the junctions, we continue on the marked cart track, which after some time brings us to grassy slopes, from which a beautiful view opens up reaching to the highest peaks of the Julian Alps. A somewhat steeper descent follows and the path brings us to Železne vrat, where we cross the asphalt road.
We continue along the macadam road in the direction of Trstelj, we walk along it to the power line. Immediately after the power line, we leave the road and continue the ascent left on the marked path, which begins to ascend more steeply. After a few minutes, the path levels out and passes onto panoramic and relatively gentle shady slopes. The path quickly returns to the forest and from the right the path from Renče joins.
We continue left in the direction of the hut, on the path which soon splits into two parts. We continue slightly right on the marked shortcut, then we join a poorer forest road, which we follow to the nearby Stjenkova koča hut on Trstelj.
From the hut, we continue right in the direction of the summit and continue the ascent on a pleasant path that ascends through a belt of sparse forest. Only a little higher, we join a wide cart track, along which in a few 10 steps of further walking we arrive at the summit of Trstelj.

On the way: Sveti Duh (Pedrovo) (365m), Slavčeva bajta (395m), Železna vrata (445m), Stjenkova koča na Trstelju mountain hut (610m)