Lokavec - Veliki Rob (via Kucelj)

Access to starting point:
We drive on the highway from Razdrto towards Nova Gorica or vice versa and go to the exit Ajdovščina. Then at the crossroad, we turn left in the direction of Nova Gorica and drive to the village Cesta, where a sign for Lokavec points us to the right. We follow this road to a larger parking lot at the church in the village Lokavec, where there are also signposts for Čaven.

Path description:
From the parking lot, we continue on the road in the direction of Čaven. The road, which gently ascends among houses, soon brings us to the smaller crossroad near the small stream. Here we continue on the left road and on the left side of the stream, which at the end of the village brings us to a cart track on which we then ascend. We further follow the cart track, which slowly turns into a footpath. The path eventually crosses a bad forest road and soon after that brings us to a junction, where we continue straight in the direction of Čaven. The path then brings us to a spring and then steeply ascends for a few dozen steps. The path ahead brings us to unvegetated slopes, from which a nice view opens up on Nanos, Vipava Valley and surrounding hills. A little further, the path again crosses a rough forest road and ascends for a short time parallel to it. Only a little further, we come to a wider road, which we follow to the right, but only a few steps, and then the blazes point us left upwards. The path ahead starts to ascend more steeply and a little higher crosses the marked path that starts at the "tunnels".
Here we continue straight upwards on the path, which is becoming very steep. A little further, the path, which for most of the time ran through the forest, again crosses some panoramic slopes. A little further, the path brings us to a ridge, where we have two options for continuing. The left path runs a little below the ridge and is less panoramic than the one that runs along the ridge, but it is more sheltered in case of strong bora. After 10 minutes both paths join and bring us to unvegetated grassy slopes east of Mala gora.
Here the steepness eases and the path ahead continues across nice meadows, where in spring and summer we notice a lot of mountain flowers. A little further, the path from Stomaž joins from the left. Here we continue straight on the path, which brings us to the Koča na Čavnu hut in a few minutes.
Behind the hut, the signs for Kucelj point us slightly left onto a footpath that starts to descend diagonally. The path ahead crosses a short stretch of forest, then turns right, where it continues lightly descending. The path then gradually enters the forest and the path from the village Kamnje joins from the left (there are two turn-offs for Kamnje).
We continue in the direction of Kucelj on the path, which gradually passes to the right side of the "Čaven" ridge. The path continues across a larger clearing, from which a view opens up on the surrounding hills, then returns to the forest. A little further, we leave a gently sloping cart track and continue the ascent to the left, ascending further through dense forest. The steepness soon eases and the path brings us from the forest to increasingly panoramic grassy slopes. A few minutes of easy walking follow, then the path brings us below the summit of Kucelj, where it steeply ascends again. We follow this path, which offers increasingly beautiful views, all the way to the top of Kucelj, reaching it after a few more minutes of walking.
From Kucelj we descend in the direction of Vrtovina on the path, which after a short descent brings us to a marked junction. We continue right in the direction of Veliki rob on a pleasant path that lightly descends across panoramic grassy slopes. Lower down the path enters a belt of scrub, then joins the old road or cart track connection between Vipava Valley and Trnovski gozd. We follow the mentioned cart track right, then after a few minutes the signs for Veliki rob direct us left onto a footpath that gradually begins ascending the southern slopes of Trnovski gozd. Occasionally quite panoramic, the path higher up moves somewhat right from the ridge and for a short time enters dense forest, where the path from Krnica joins from the right. After a short descent, the path starts ascending again, emerging from the forest into a belt of dwarf pines, where it continues on and beside an occasionally quite steep ridge. We follow this path, from which beautiful views open up, all the way to Veliki rob.
Lokavec - Koča na Čavnu 2:15, Koča na Čavnu - Kucelj 45 minutes, Kucelj - Veliki rob 1:00.

On the way: Koča Antona Bavčerja na Čavnu mountain hut (1242m), Kucelj na Čavnu (1237m)