Makole - Boč (via Balunjača)

Access to starting point:
A) We drive to Poljčane, and then we follow the signs for Majšperk and Makole. In the settlement Stranske Makole or a little after the settlement Stranske Makole we turn right towards Makole, where in the center of the settlement, we park on a marked parking lot at the cemetery.
B) We drive to Slovenska Bistrica, and then we go on the road in the direction towards Makole. We further follow the signs for Makole, and we park on a marked parking lot at the cemetery in the center of the settlement.
C) From Ptuj we follow the signs for Majšperk, and when we get to Majšperk we follow the signs for Makole. When we get to Makole we park on a marked parking lot at the cemetery.

Path description:
From the parking lot, we walk to the main road and continue right to the nearby roundabout, from which we go on the road by which there are signs for Jelovec pri Makolah and sv. Urban.
We continue on a somewhat narrower road which leads us across Jelovški potok. Makole a little ahead ends, and from the crossroad with the dead-end street we continue left, where the first blazes appear. We continue on the asphalt road which a little ahead ascends through the forest and then leads past a few houses. Further, a nice view opens up from the road, and at a few crossroads we follow the signs and blazes. Higher, the road leads us past the chapel of sv. Urban, and at a few crossroads we still follow the blazes. After some time we go from the asphalt road left onto a macadam road which temporarily descends a little, and from it we go right onto a cart track which ascends along the edge of the forest. The path ahead leads us through the forest for a few minutes; when we leave the forest we go right so that we bypass the nearby homestead on the right side, and when we reach the asphalt road we go left. Again some descent follows, at the farm Domišak the road returns into the forest and begins to ascend. In the forest we go from the road right onto a cart track on which we ascend diagonally. When we leave the cart track, from which a nice view of Boč opens up temporarily, we step onto the road which we follow to the right (left Plešivec). We do not walk on the road for long, as the blazes direct us slightly left onto a cart track which ascends diagonally to the right, and higher at the junctions we follow the direction of the blazes. Near the summit of Kisovec the path begins to descend and brings us to a worse road, on which we easily descend to Formila.
When we reach Formila we continue left (sharply right Studenice and Boč by road) and for a short time we continue along the edge of the forest; when the road enters the forest it brings us to a marked crossroad.
At the crossroad the path from Plešivec joins from the left, and we continue right in the direction of Boč. Also at the next crossroad, where another path from Plešivec or Donačka gora joins, we continue right, and we also go right at the next crossroad. From the last crossroad we walk along the road only for a short time, then we go left onto a marked path which ascends on a cart track to the place where there once stood a forestry cottage, now a new hut is being built (status May 2022).
Here we step back onto the road which we follow left (across the road an unmarked path leads to Boč, or we can join the road leading towards Boč). Further we walk on the road which crosses the slopes of Boč to the left, on which we first still gently ascend, later descending a little.
About ten steps before we reach the asphalt road, the shady path to Boč branches off to the right, and we continue to the road where we continue right. When the road turns left, we continue slightly right and with the path continue on the cart track which goes into the forest, at the junction we go right in the direction of the path over Balunjača and in the direction of the climbing path to Boč (left downhill Dom na Boču - 2 minutes).
A few minutes of diagonal ascent to the left follow, and higher the path from the valley joins from the left (starting point Zgornje Poljčane).
Here we go from the cart track right onto a footpath in the direction of Boč, and further at the junctions we follow the path over Balunjača. The path over Balunjača then leads us over a shorter secured section, where the path is not particularly demanding but on this section is exposed to falling rocks. Higher we rejoin the steep and climbing path which had branched off from our path.
The steepness of the path then gradually eases and the path brings us to a cart track which gently ascends beside the military area. When we leave the vicinity of the military area only five minutes of walking remain on the summit, still forested ridge. When we reach the summit we can also climb the lookout tower, from which a nice view opens in all directions.
Makole - Formila na Boču 2:00, Formila na Boču - Boč 1:45.

On the way: Jelovec pri Makolah (266m), Sveti Urban (Jelovec pri Makolah) (415m), Formila na Boču (624m)