Brzika - Donačka gora

Access to starting point:
A) We drive to Rogaška Slatina, then continue driving towards Rogatec. In Rogatec, at the roundabout, we turn "left" towards Ptuj, then drive along the main road to the Brzika pass, where we notice red hiking signposts, next to which we park in a suitable place.
B) We drive to Majšperk, then follow the signs for Stoperce and Rogatec. After Stoperce, the road starts to ascend more steeply, and we follow it to the Brzika pass, where we notice red hiking signposts, next to which we park in a suitable place.

Route description:
From the starting point, we head onto the macadam road that branches off towards the east from the starting point and alongside which there are signs for Rudijev dom and Donačka gora. We walk for a short time on the macadam road, before the road gently descends to the nearby house, then we go slightly left onto a cart track that ascends transversely along the edge of the hay meadow. A little further, we continue on the lower cart track, alongside which there are signs for Rudijev dom, then we ascend along the pasture fence to a smaller saddle that connects Gaj (454 m) and Ženčaj (582 m).
On the saddle, we go right and walk to a wider macadam road, which we follow to the left. The path ahead leads us along a macadam road that mostly ascends gently to moderately, only on a shorter section does it temporarily descend a little. Higher up, the road turns right and brings us to a junction, where we go sharply left following the signs for Rudijev dom. This is followed by a few minutes of transverse ascent through the forest; when we leave the forest, we go right and ascend along a less trodden path that leads us across the meadow to the hunting observatory, which is located on a saddle connecting Donačka gora with Ženčaj.
Here the path turns slightly to the left and ascends transversely; at the nearby house, the path widens into a forest road, along which we continue to the Rudijev dom, a few minutes away.
From Rudijev dom, we continue left towards the summit of Donačka gora (right: Sv. Jurij, Rogatec and the source of Sotla) and initially walk along the macadam road, from which we soon go right towards the easier path to Donačka gora (straight: demanding path to Donačka gora and Žetale).
The path ahead initially ascends moderately through the forest; after a few minutes, it moves onto steep slopes and becomes steeper too. We continue ascending along the maintained mountain path that climbs in numerous switchbacks. Higher up, we pass the memorial plaque in memory of Ernst Froelich, who in 1853 blazed the trail to Donačka gora, which was the first marked trail in Slovenia. After the memorial plaque, a few minutes of ascent follow along the northwestern slope of Donačka gora, then we reach the ridge, where we go left. This is followed by ascent along and beside the forested ridge, and in a few minutes we reach the higher, western summit of Donačka gora.
Brzika - Rudijev dom 1:00, Rudijev dom - Donačka gora 0:45.
Description and pictures refer to the condition in April 2022.

Along the route: Rudijev dom na Donački gori (590m)

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