Crossroads below Zvonik - Planinarsko sklonište Bitorajka

Access to starting point:
Highway Rijeka - Zagreb we leave at the exit Vrata, then continue right towards Fužine, but only for a short time because we will soon encounter a turn-off to the left, where trail blazes also direct us. The road crosses the railway tracks, and behind them we reach a crossroad, where we continue slightly right onto a macadam road. The road, which isn’t in the best condition, we follow to the next crossroad, where we continue straight past an open gate (we can also park here, which extends the path by approximately 15 minutes), and after about a kilometer we reach a crossroad where a path branches off to the right towards Bitoraj. The turn-off is marked only with trail blazes.

Path description:
From the starting point, we go on a cart track which at first steeply ascends, and then it flattens. It further makes two hairpin turns, and then crosses the slope of the nearby peak Mala Lipovača. The cart track flattens, and we soon come to a crossroad, where we continue left on a slightly worse cart track, and soon turn left again onto an overgrown logging trail. We follow the blazes and come to a small, indistinct saddle. The logging trail slightly descends, and then crosses the slopes. Occasionally, we ascend a bit more steeply. The logging trail gradually changes into a path. The path continues to cross the slope, and after approximately 20 minutes of crossing, the path turns steeply upwards. Along the way, we encounter a small natural window, which is a few meters to the left of the path. After this, the path steeply ascends to a small saddle, behind which the path slightly descends and turns to the left. The path gently ascends and returns to an indistinct ridge, then veers to the left side, and after a slightly longer steep ascent, we arrive at a clearing. Only a few minutes separate us from the cottage.
The description and pictures refer to the condition in October 2024.