Brest - Žbevnica (gentle path)

Access to starting point:
a) We leave the Primorska highway at the Kastelec exit and follow the signs for Podgorje. Over the Podgorje border crossing, we enter Croatia. We drive through Jelovice to Vodice, where we turn right. Then we drive through Dane to the next crossroads, where we turn right in the direction of Brest. The road makes a hairpin turn, and we drive along the slope of Žbevnica. When we arrive in Brest, we park on the right side of the road by the bowling alley.
b) We leave the Primorska highway at the Črni Kal exit and continue on the old road towards the coast, but we drive only to the next slightly larger crossroad, where we turn left towards the border crossing Sočerga. On the mentioned road, we drive past the settlement Kubed to the village Gračišče, where at the crossroad we turn left in the direction of Rakitovec, Movraž and Smokvica. We drive through Smokvica and Movraž to the next crossroad, where we turn right towards the border crossing Rakitovec. We can also reach this point via Zazid. When we arrive in Croatia, we come to a wider road coming from Buzet, and we continue left in the direction of Brest. The winding road leads us into the village, where we park on the left side of the road by the bowling alley at the end.

Path description:
At the starting point, signs direct us to a wide and initially gentle path in the forest. The path leads us past a water catchment and soon after a concrete structure, then becomes steep. We cross to the right and after a few minutes reach a technically undemanding, short, steep rocky section. The path is nicely routed through, but we must be careful not to slip. After the rocky section, we arrive at the Žbevnica mountain hut. From the hut, we continue to the cart track, which we follow to the left. Straight, a steep path to Žbevnica. The cart track ascends steeply for a short time, then flattens out. After about 15 minutes of mostly flat walking along the cart track, blazes direct us to the right onto a meadow and later back into the forest. Straight leads toward Kavčič and Stargate. The cart track narrows and begins to ascend steeply through a mixed forest. Soon the forest starts to thin out. After about 15 minutes, we finally emerge from the forest onto the grassy slopes of Muzari. The path ascends all the way to the saddle between an unnamed peak and Žbevnica, where there is a crossroads, and we continue right towards Žbevnica. To the left, you reach Muzari, Špičasti vrh, and the peaks above Zazid. The path becomes steep and in 5 minutes we reach the scenic peak of Žbevnica.
The description and pictures refer to the condition in November 2024.

On the way: Planinarska kuća Žbevnica (851m)