Kebelj - Veliki vrh (on Pohorje)

Access to starting point:
We drive to Oplotnica (to here from the Styrian motorway exit Slovenske Konjice or Slovenska Bistrica - south), and then first follow the signs for Osankarica, then for the settlement Kebelj. When we arrive in Kebelj from the centre of the settlement we turn left towards the cemetery, beside which we then park.

Path description:
From the parking lot, we continue on the road which leads us on the upper northern side of the cemetery, and when after approximately 50 metres the road ends we continue right on a marked path (left - Oplotnica).
The path ahead leads us on a marked cart track which before the entrance into the forest turns right and continues by the edge of the forest, from the mentioned cart track the blazes point us to the left on a narrower cart track which continues through the forest. Through the forest we follow the blazes, and when the path turns a little to the right, after a shorter crossing from the right another path from the settlement Kebelj joins us.
Here we go left and quickly arrive at the ruins of Kebelj or Zajčev Castle.
We bypass the ruins on the left side and follow the blazes to the nearby asphalt road, where we go straight upwards. Only a little further, the asphalt road on which we continue turns right, and to the left a path branches off towards Osankarica (Kebeljska transverzala path). We leave the asphalt road only a little further, where signs for Črno jezero point us left into the forest. A shorter ascent through the forest follows, then past numerous pieces of litter we reach the nearby homestead (from the opposite direction there is also a warning for a fierce dog). At the homestead the road becomes asphalt and we quickly return to a somewhat wider asphalt road, on which we continue the ascent. After a few minutes the blazes point us left onto a grassy cart track, on which we ascend along the edge of the forest, higher past the house we step again onto the asphalt road which brings us to the next marked junction.
We continue right in the direction of Three Kings and Črno jezero (left Črno jezero - path past Kos) and continue on the road to the junction near the NOB monument.
From the junction we go right towards the access road, at the dead-end sign we go left onto the marked footpath which continues through the forest. Approximately 20 minutes of ascent through the forest follows, where we follow the blazes, then we reach a road which we follow for some 10 steps to the right, where we arrive at Hotel Jakec, above which is the church of St Three Kings.
From the church of St Three Kings we continue in the direction of Črno jezero and Urškina pot, where we quickly arrive at the edge of the nearby ski slope of the RTC Jakec - Trije kralji ski centre. The path ahead first leads along the edge of the forest, just a few metres away from the ski slope, higher we cross the ski slope to the right (during operation of the ski centre we cross the ski slope above the draglift). On the other side of the ski slope the path goes a little to the right and leads us under the accumulation lake.
A little behind the lake we arrive at the connecting ski slope, on which we continue the ascent (during operation of the ski centre we walk along the extreme left edge of the ski slope), when a few minutes higher we reach the second ski slope, where the marked path to Črno jezero crosses the ski slope, but we continue along the left edge, where there are also signs for Urškina pot. A few more minutes of steeper ascent follow and with ever better views we arrive at the benches on Veliki vrh, from where a nice view opens onto Pohorje and the valley.
From here we can continue another some 10 m into the forest, where the highest point of the peak is located.
Kebelj - Zajčev grad 0:20, Zajčev grad - sv. Trije Kralji 1:20, sv. Trije kralji - Veliki vrh 0:30.
The description and pictures refer to the condition in January and April 2022.

On the way: Kebelj castle (Castle Zajec) (813m), Nadgrad (851m), Sveti Trije kralji (1181m)