Leskova dolina - Veliki Snežnik

Access to starting point:
a) From Cerknica or Nova vas na Blokah we drive to Bloška Polica, from where we continue towards Lož and Babno Polje. In the settlement Pudob we turn right towards Snežnik, Ilirska Bistrica, Knežak and the nearby settlement Kozarišče. In Kozarišče we drive slightly left towards Snežnik and also at the following intersections follow the signs for Snežnik. At the end of Kozarišče the asphalt ends, and immediately after the bridge over Mali Obrh we turn left towards Mašun and Knežak. A relatively long drive on a macadam road follows. After approximately 11 km we arrive at Leskova dolina, where we park at one of the parking areas along the road.
b) We drive to Pivka, from where we continue towards Knežak. In Knežak at the marked intersection we turn left towards Mašun and the settlements Bač and Koritnice. A little further we go right towards Mašun and Koritnice (straight Bač). After Koritnice the road starts to ascend noticeably. After 18 km drive from the main intersection in Knežak we arrive at Mašun, from where we turn right towards Sviščaki. After approximately 2 km of macadam we arrive at an intersection, where we choose the left, lower road (the right leads towards Sviščaki). We drive on it for another approximately 7 km to Leskova dolina, where we park appropriately along the road.
c) First we drive to Ilirska Bistrica, then continue towards Sviščaki (the turnoff in the middle of Ilirska Bistrica is marked, but perhaps somewhat less visible). Initially we ascend on an asphalt road, after less than 12 km the macadam begins. After another 7 km we arrive at an intersection in the immediate vicinity of Planinski dom na Sviščakih, where we continue straight to the hut. From there we continue driving towards Mašun. After 10 km of macadam we arrive at an intersection, where we turn sharply right towards Leskova dolina (straight Mašun 2 km). From this intersection we drive another approximately 7 km to Leskova dolina, where we park at a suitable place along the road.

Route description:
Along the road leading to Leskova dolina we notice mountain direction signs for Snežnik. They direct us onto a footpath that quickly takes us through a belt of forest to a forest road towards Lepi Dol. We merely cross this road and continue the ascent on the marked path, which soon enters dense forest. Further we walk along a cart track, where we can shorten the route with a few marked shortcuts, then we step onto a macadam road and follow it to the left.
We walk along it for approximately 20 minutes until we reach a marked intersection, where we turn right towards Snežnik and Gašperjev hrib. From here the road begins to ascend somewhat more steeply and higher up takes us to the starting point of the path Gašperjev hrib–Snežnik. At this point we leave the road and turn onto the marked footpath towards Snežnik.
The path first ascends steeply along a cart track, then levels out and after a few minutes turns into a pleasant trail that leads us along an indistinct ridge or right beside it. Soon we reach a viewpoint with a view of Snežnik. The trail then descends slightly into a belt of dense forest, through which it ascends transversely. Higher up we step onto a larger meadow, from which a beautiful view of the surrounding hills opens up. We walk for some time along the scenic grassy slope, then the path returns to the forest and begins to ascend steeply. From the forest we soon pass into dwarf pine, where we ascend over increasingly scenic terrain. A short descent follows, then from the left a little-used path from Grčovec joins us.
We continue towards Snežnik on the marked path, which leads us from the dwarf pine onto an unwooded summit slope. We follow this increasingly scenic path to the summit, which we reach after a few minutes of walking.

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