Branik - Trstelj (on forest path)

Access to starting point:
A) From the highway Ljubljana - Koper, we take the exit Senožeče, then 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 drive through the villages Kazlje, Dobravlje and Ponikve. At the intersection 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. Just a little further from the mentioned intersection, we will notice a larger parking lot on the right, where we park (the parking lot is located near the post office and Mercator store).
B) First, we drive to Ajdovščina, then 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 Vipava River, 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 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 continue driving in the direction of Branik. We park in the center of Branik on a larger organized parking lot (the parking lot is located near the post office and Mercator store).

Path description:
From the parking lot, we continue along the main road towards Dornberk, then continue left in the direction of the settlement Cvetrož. Soon after leaving the main road, at the transformer station we will notice signs for Pedrovo. A little further ahead, the road leads us over the bridge across the Branico River, and right behind the bridge we continue left in the direction of the hamlet Lojevi (right Cvetrož). Just a few steps further, the road splits again, and this time we continue right (straight farm Furlan and farm tourism Pri mlinu). Along the asphalt road, we walk only some 10 meters more, then at the nearby residential house we continue straight towards the railway bridge. When we reach the foot of the railway bridge, we continue on the marked path, which continues under the stone arch. For a short time, we ascend along the bottom of a small valley, then cross a torrent and on the other side start to ascend more steeply. Higher, we reach a forested ridge, and the path immediately passes to its right side (viewed in the direction of ascent). A few minutes of traverse ascent follow, then we step onto the forested ridge again.
When we step onto the ridge, we join the cart track (path from Branik past the Branik railway station), which we follow to the right, and we walk along it to the first junction.
We continue on the left marked cart track (the right one immediately splits again into two parts), which in the continuation starts to descend gently. After a short descent, we reach the bed of the torrent stream Petnik and arrive at the metal hunting observatory. Right at the observatory, we go slightly left and cross the bed of the mentioned intermittent stream. On the other side of the stream, we start to ascend steeply on a steeper slope, and higher the path brings us below the village Pedrovo. A short ascent follows and between the houses we reach the road that leads through the village.
When we step onto the road, we continue right (left church of St. Spirit 1 minute) and walk through the village.
At the end of the village, the path "on cart track" joins from the right, and we continue straight and continue the ascent on a somewhat wider cart track, which ascends gently to moderately through the forest. Further on, the cart track splits several times, and we continue on the "main" one, i.e., the marked one (the marks are occasionally quite rare). Higher, we reach a poorer road (firebreak - intervention road no. 14P), along which we start to descend moderately. A little further, from the slope we pass into a smaller valley, where we continue right uphill on an initially less pronounced cart track. The path ahead continues for a short time across a panoramic meadow, then quickly brings us to the abandoned Slavčeva bajta. We bypass the mentioned hut on the left side and continue the path on a less marked cart track, which rises and falls several times. At the junctions, we continue on the marked cart track, which after a while 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 Železna vrata, where we cross the asphalt road.
We continue along the macadam road in the direction of Trstelj, and we walk along it to the power line. Immediately behind the power line, we leave the road and continue the ascent left on the marked path, which starts 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 us.
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 join a poorer forest road, which we follow to the nearby Stjenkova koča 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. Just a little higher, we join a wide cart track, along which in some 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)