Nakovana - Sveti Ilija (Pelješac)

Access to starting point:
You drive through Orebić and at its western end at the "Y" intersection turn right in the direction of Kućište/Viganj/Lovište. For the next approx. 15 minutes (11.4 km) you continue on the main road, which - through Kućište and Viganj - over the "pass" at approx. 300 m leads towards Lovište. The starting point for the tour is near the highest point ("saddle") of this road, at the long left turn. Just before the sign for Nakovana there is a turn-off to a "forest" macadam road; before the closed gate there is a parking lot for around 6 cars.
Distances from the nearest tourist places to the starting point: Orebić (center): 12 km; Viganj/Kućište/Perna: 4 to 9 km; Lovište: a good 6 km.

Path description:
In terms of fitness this is the easiest (lowest elevation gain), but in terms of distance walked (more than 7 km) perhaps the longest approach to Sveti Ilija. On it you nicely get to know the vastness and ruggedness of the Pelješac ridge, with numerous hills, hillocks, rises, and knolls along the path. Like most approaches, this one also leads for around half an hour through a beautiful pine forest (at around 600 m elevation). You significantly ease the tour if you cover the initial macadam road (3.4 km) by mountain bike; on foot this section drags a bit.
In the great heat of summer holidays, it is most sensible to start the tour still in the dark (somewhere between 4 and 5 a.m.) and finish it early in the forenoon, or to use a possibly cooler day (frontal passage). There is no water along the path. Both mountain huts—the new one (right next to the hunting hut) and the better-known old one—are closed in summer (PD Orebić has the keys).

On the first third of the tour the markers are very sparse and faded, but orientation is nonetheless very straightforward: stick to the macadam road (3.4 km; 0:45). You do this very easily even in the dark. First you pass the barrier, then circle the first knoll Pranja on the south side, then walk for a long time more or less eastward in a gentle ascent, and at the end somewhat steeper (virtually a serpentine) circle the knoll Pišćet on the north side. You can shortcut the last bend with a short section of mountain trail (shortening the path by 0.4 km), but the junction (right into the forest) is not well marked.

Here, at the turnaround Podpišćet, the mountain trail actually begins (if with a bike, park here). Markers from here onward are good and very frequent. From the turnaround you go past the hunting observation post and immediately climb more steeply into the rocky terrain. After about 15 minutes of ascent the trail flattens again. You continue through varied terrain: through maquis, over large rocks, through low deciduous forest. After just under an hour of walking you reach a large clearing; on it, next to the hunting hut from the 1980s, stands the new mountain hut. A few minutes beyond the clearing, in the shelter of tall pines, you reach the triple junction (connection of the trail from the Viganj/Bilopolje/Orebić direction). This section 1 h.

The last hour takes you further eastward, first through a beautiful pine forest, then somewhat more open again. Before you reach the old mountain hut, there are two more somewhat steeper knee-biters. At the hut the trail from the Orebić/Ruskovići direction joins. Above the hut awaits a short steeper ascent through the forest (toward NE), then gently along the vast summit ridge to the top.

Times: starting point - end of macadam road (Podpišćet) 0:45; end of road - triple trail junction (Polje) 1:00; junction - summit 1:00.
Described conditions apply to August 2022.