Ljubelj - Bielschitza/Svačica (via Vatelca or Skleda)

Access to starting point:
From the highway Ljubljana - Jesenice, we take the exit Ljubelj and follow the road ahead to the border crossing. Only a few meters before the border crossing, signs for Zelenica direct us to the left and after some 10 meters of additional driving the road brings us to the parking lot below the ski center Zelenica.

Path description:
From the parking lot, we head onto the marked footpath in the direction of Zelenica, Vrtača and Stol. The path first leads along a moderately steep cart track that ascends through the forest, then turns slightly to the right and brings us out of the forest onto the ski slope track. We continue the ascent on the ski slope, from which beautiful views open up onto the rocky walls and scree fields of Begunjščica, and on the right side we see the ridge of Ljubeljšica. The path, which continues along a poor road, brings us only a little higher to the Koča Vrtača hut, where the Zelenica I chairlift ends and the Zelenica II chairlift begins. Here the transport-rescue road turns sharply to the right, but we continue straight ahead in the direction of Zelenica and follow a path that is initially still gentle, then steeper, ascending along the ski slope track. Higher up, we ascend through a sparse belt of dwarf pines, then return to the road. We continue along the poor road, but when the road turns left, we go right onto a steep footpath that rejoins the road just below the upper station of the single chairlift Zelenica II. From here follows a short descent and the path brings us to the Dom na Zelenici hut.
Just before the hut, the path to Begunjščica and Roblekov dom branches off to the left, but behind the hut we continue left and begin ascending beside the children's ski lift Ciciban. Roughly in the middle of the lift, we reach a small junction, where we continue right across the ski slope (straight ahead: Koča pri izviru Završnice, Srednji vrh and Stol - lower path). On the other side of the Ciciban ski slope, the path enters a narrow belt of forest, beyond which we reach the next ski lift. We also just cross this ski slope, then beside a small boulder we find the continuation of the marked path towards Vrtača and Stol. Further on, the path leads along the slopes below the Na Možeh ridge, then descends slightly and brings us to the point where an unmarked path branches off to the right into the Suhega ruševja valley and Palec (there is a small cairn at the junction). After the junction, the path gradually transitions onto the slopes of Vrtača, across which it mostly ascends diagonally. Higher up, an unmarked path from the Koča pri izviru Završnice joins from the left, and we continue straight to the nearby marked junction.
At the junction, the path to Vrtača branches off slightly to the right, while straight ahead the upper path to Stol continues. We follow the right path towards Vrtača, which ascends somewhat more steeply. Higher up, we reach grassy slopes where the path becomes even steeper, then turns left and transitions onto steep slopes. This is followed by crossing a slightly exposed gully, then we ascend over steep grass onto the southwest shoulder of Vrtača.
Here the marked path to Vrtača turns sharply to the right, but we continue straight across to the other side of the ridge, where we descend along the path to the nearby scree field. Once we reach the nearby scree field, we continue along a somewhat less trodden but marked mountain path (marked with red lines). The path, which first descends gently, then moderately and occasionally steeply across the scree, almost semicircularly bypasses the nearby cirque. The path, which in several places is also exposed to falling rocks, lower down stops descending and brings us to a short but steep grassy slope. We ascend a few meters up the steep slope, then arrive in the plateau-like terrain around the Skleda sinkhole (on some maps also Vatelca). A few minutes of relatively gentle path follow, then we reach a small junction where we continue right (left steeply down to Stol). A short crossing follows and the path brings us to the junction at the Belščica saddle.
From this junction, where there are Austrian mountain signposts, we continue right (straight down: Celovška koča / Klagenfurter Hütte) in the direction of Svačica (on the sign: Bielschitza). The path ahead first crosses the slopes to the right, then brings us onto the Svačica ridge. Here we continue slightly left and further follow the initially still gentle ridge. Some 10 meters higher, the path continuing along the ridge begins to ascend very steeply. Further on, we ascend steeply along the ridge which is somewhat precipitous in a few places, but since we have a belt of dwarf pines on the right side the whole time, the ascent presents no major difficulties. Higher up, the ridge narrows, and from the right a somewhat less steep unmarked path joins. A short gentle ascent follows along the locally exposed ridge, and the path brings us to the panoramic and precipitous summit.

On the way: Koča Vrtača mountain hut (1288m), Dom na Zelenici mountain hut (1536m), Sedlo Belščica (1840m)