Kraljev hrib - Gradišče (Velika planina) (via Sivnik and Rigelj)

Access to starting point:
First, we drive to Kamnik, then we continue driving in the direction of Kamniška Bistrica and the cableway to Velika planina. In Stahovica we continue left (direction Kamniška Bistrica and cableway Velika planina) and follow the moderately ascending road to a large parking lot near the lower cableway station to Velika planina (the parking lot is located on the right side of the road).

Route description:
This path isn't a shortcut on which hordes of pilgrims would roll. The exact opposite. It makes a few more turns than necessary, and on it you will meet more chamois than people.
We park at the lower station of the cableway and head along the macadam towards Kraljev hrib. At the transformer we turn right onto a wide forest road, which we leave at the hunting feed site and observatory. The laziest could drive here, parking is also possible. We continue on a new but considerably worse forest road, which without warning ends before Šimnov plaz. From here a well-beaten path leads on, and we encounter the first junction only after half an hour. In the middle of the beech forest we need to pay attention to a very special beech tree, on which there are arrows for left and right and a whole bunch of carved graffiti. Left goes the fast path to Rigelj, we take the right path, which is noticeably less beaten than the one we came on, but easy to follow and undemanding.
The next junction is at the hunting cottage Sivnik, which we cannot miss. The cottage has seen better days and is today practically a ruin. The path we came on continues straight past the cottage, we turn onto a poorly beaten hunting path, which right behind the cottage begins to rise in gentle zigzags along the indistinct ridge of Sivnik. Even a trained eye must take time to spot the little path. But once the eye adjusts to the darkness, it also gets used to such paths and soon it is not hard to follow it.
Just as we tire of the forest we reach a clearing. It is quite steep and in summer the little path is practically invisible in the high grass. We only feel it under our soles. We enter the clearing lower left and leave it upper right after a few serpentines. Some forest follows and a new clearing, which we just cross. We leave it a bit higher by a rock. From there we can already see the next meadow. We reach it past a huge rock that has a hole where water collects – kropilnik.
What is in front of us is not an ordinary clearing but a real small valley that rises steeply straight towards the top of Velika planina. Right in its middle is a junction so poorly marked that even Google cannot find it. To not make it too easy, the path does not split into just two branches but three. We arrived on the path that enters the meadow lower left, looking uphill, and we will leave it upper left. The other two paths leave the meadow middle right and upper right. No panic, we are still on a decent hunting path, this is still far from pathless terrain. But those who do not know about this junction will hardly notice it and their feet will carry them along one of the little paths without even realizing there was a choice.
When on the ridge we leave the plain, the path unexpectedly turns downhill. Many will be disappointed because just before the edge of the planina was almost visible, now the path goes a bit down, a bit up, a bit more down... That's just how it is, hunters' main concern is not how to reach the top as quickly as possible. But the path repays us at some spots with a nice view, a rare flower or a wild animal that does not see a hiker every day.
At the next junction we join the path that leads straight to Rigelj. We would have come via it if we had turned left at that described beech tree. The junction is on the ridge, an extension of which is the viewpoint. If we want to go there we must pass a gigantic anthill that has grown so much that a real detour is needed because of it. But we do not even need to go to the viewpoint, as no one hid the nice view from us before. It is important not to turn left downhill but right steeply uphill. Soon we will reach the boundary of Velika planina. Its pastures are fenced everywhere around with metal fences, rarely wooden or stone ones. Where the path crosses it there are usually nice metal gates, which need to be closed in summer. Only the path across Rigelj must break through the barricade of dry branches without gates.
On the planina the path quickly splits and disappears, as the pastures are one wide path and it matters little where we walk. To reach the top we must keep as far right as possible, through Družinski Ror to Zeleni rob, from there best under the chairlift to Gradišče.

Along the route: Lovska koča Sivnik (975m), Rigelj (1400m), Zeleni rob (1550m)

We recommend: trips from the same starting point, similar trips, panorama, summit register