Hotavlje - Ermanovec (via Slajka)

Access to starting point:
A) From Železniki, Kranj or Medvode we drive to Škofja Loka, and from there we continue driving towards Gorenja vas in Poljanska dolina and Žiri. After Gorenja vas, in the settlement Hotavlje, at the crossroads behind the inn Gostilna Lipan we leave the main road towards Žiri and continue driving right towards the Cerkno ski area and village Leskovica. Immediately after the crossroads we park at a suitable place by the road.
B) From Horjul or Polhov Gradec we drive to Lučine, from there we descend to Gorenja vas. In Gorenja vas we continue left towards Žiri, then in Hotavlje at the crossroads behind the inn Gostilna Lipan we continue right towards the Cerkno ski area and village Leskovica. Immediately after the crossroads we park at a suitable place by the road.
C) From Vrhnika, Logatec or Spodnja Idrija we drive to Žiri, and from there we continue driving towards Gorenja vas and Škofja Loka, but we drive along the main road only to the settlement Hotavlje, where we turn left towards the Cerkno ski area and village Leskovica. Immediately after the crossroads we park at a suitable place by the road.
D) First we drive to Cerkno, and from there we continue driving over the saddle Kladje (Podlanišče) towards Sovodenj. From Sovodenj we continue driving along the stream Hobovščica, then at a somewhat larger crossroads we continue left towards Gorenja vas (right Žiri). Along the main road towards Škofja Loka we drive to the settlement Hotavlje, where we turn left towards the Cerkno ski area and village Leskovica. Immediately after the crossroads we park at a suitable place by the road.

Path description:
From the starting point, where nearby there is a vending machine of the farm pri Šupc, we continue along the road towards the village Leskovica and in the direction of the hiking paths to Blegoš, Ermanovec and Slajko. We walk for a few minutes along the edge of the road, partly also on the sidewalk, then the signs for Ermanovec and Slajko direct us left (straight to Blegoš), where we cross Kopačnica over the bridge, and immediately after the bridge at the church of St. Lovrenc we continue right and gradually begin to ascend. Initially we ascend past a few more houses, then the signs direct us sharply left, where for some 10 steps we continue on a cart track, on the hay meadow the cart track turns into a footpath, which veers slightly right and leads past one more house. Higher up we cross a few poorer cart tracks, the blazes through a strip of somewhat overgrown path bring us to an asphalt road, which we merely cross. On the other side of the road we first ascend more steeply, then continue on a narrower path that proceeds through a small valley, where the power line route also runs. From the valley we soon ascend transversely to the right, reaching the ridge (here another footpath joins from the right), here the path turns left. A little further we cross another cart track, when we leave the forest we quickly ascend to an asphalt road, which we follow to the right. The asphalt road then leads us past a bench, where a path branches off to the right to Vrh Slajke, we follow the road, which semicircularly turns left, to the nearby farm, from which the Dom na Slajki hut is only a minute's walk away.
From the hut we return to the nearby farm, where we bypass the main buildings along the upper side and continue along the macadam road, which on the nearby meadow turns into a cart track. This is followed by walking through a strip of forest, then we arrive at the grassy slopes of Špik or Vranškov grič (both names appear on maps), which we cross amid fine views. When we reach a poorer macadam road we descend along it (right private land), when the road levels out we join a wider macadam road, which we reach above the Hom farm.
We continue in the direction of Ermanovec and then walk along the macadam road, which later becomes asphalt, for quite some time. This is followed by some descent amid fine views, then from a smaller crossroads we continue slightly right (slightly left we can descend to the church of St. Pavel in Stara Oselica), from the next crossroads we go slightly left (slightly right farm Rotovž).
This is followed by a gentle ascent and the path brings us to the point where the marked path forks.
We continue along the left path, which leaves the road (right Dom na Ermanovcu, path that bypasses the summit of Ermanovec) and continues on a cart track. Initially we walk along the edge of the hay meadow, the path slowly turning slightly left. At junctions we follow the blazes, the path soon enters the forest and ascends to a minor saddle, where the path from Trebija joins from the left.
We continue right towards Ermanovec (slightly right Dom na Ermanovcu) and ascend along and beside an indistinct ridge. During the ascent occasional views open up, otherwise the partly forested path brings us to the summit of Ermanovec in a few more minutes of walking, from where a fine view also opens onto the Julian Alps.
Hotavlje - Dom na Slajki 1:15, Dom na Slajki - Ermanovec 1:25.
Description and pictures refer to the condition in January 2020.

On the way: Dom na Slajki mountain hut (789m)

Trip can be extended to: Koča na Ermanovcu , Štor