Planina Kuhinja - Krn (via Krnska škrbina)

Access to starting point:
a) We drive to Kobarid, then follow the signs for Drežnica. After crossing the Soča river via the Napoleonov most, turn right towards Tolmin and Vrsno (Drežnica is slightly to the left) and gradually start ascending. We continue driving past the settlements of Ladra, Smast and Libušnje to the settlement of Vrsno, where the birth house of Simon Gregorčič is located. Here the road from the settlement of Kamno joins from the right, while we continue following the signs towards the village of Krn and the mountain pasture Kuhinja. There is still quite a long drive along a relatively narrow road; at junctions we always follow the direction for the mountain pasture Kuhinja. Just a short distance before the mountain pasture, turn left where the barrier for paying the parking fee is located. Beyond the barrier, a few parking spaces are already available along the road, with many more on a small flat area. It is also possible to park a little further ahead, in front of the Koča na planini Kuhinja.
b) We drive to Tolmin, then follow the signs for Kobarid. On the flat section of the road, turn right towards the settlement of Kamno, which we reach via a narrow bridge over the Soča river, then follow the signs for the village of Vrsno. In Vrsno we join the road coming from Kobarid and continue following the signs towards the village of Krn and the mountain pasture Kuhinja. There is still quite a long drive along a relatively narrow road; at junctions we always follow the direction for the mountain pasture Kuhinja. Just a short distance before the mountain pasture, turn left where the barrier for paying the parking fee is located. Beyond the barrier, a few parking spaces are already available along the road, with many more on a small flat area. It is also possible to park a little further ahead, in front of the Koča na planini Kuhinja.

Path description:
From the parking lot in front of the mountain pasture Kuhinja, we turn onto the lower left road that leads towards Koča na planini Kuhinja (slightly to the right lies mountain pasture Leskovica, Jezero v Lužnici...) and along which there are signs for Gomiščkovo zavetišče and Krn. A short distance before Koča na planini Kuhinja the path forks; we can choose the right branch, which is slightly shorter than the one that passes the hut, or continue straight ahead on the slightly longer variant that passes the hut.
At the memorial to fallen mountaineers in the Krn mountain range, both paths rejoin, and we continue following the marked trail towards Krn. This is followed by a few minutes of moderate ascent during which we cross several grazing fences; when we reach the access road to the nearby mountain pastures we only cross it (to the left is the Italian chapel on Planica and the nearby mountain pastures) and then begin to ascend steeply. The ascent continues up an increasingly panoramic grassy slope; higher up we reach mountain pasture Slapnik, where several identical buildings stand.
We bypass the buildings on the right side, then cross the road leading towards the mountain pasture Zaslap twice, where during the grazing season it is possible to buy some dairy products. Higher up, two more turn-offs also lead from the road to the mentioned mountain pasture, but we continue on the path that gradually transitions to steeper slopes, where we ascend in several longer zig-zags. Higher up, we ascend diagonally to the left and at an altitude slightly over 1600 metres reach an unmarked junction, where the marked path continues straight ahead, while a well-trodden shortcut branches off to the right.
We continue straight ahead on a gently sloping path that traverses the slopes, in places even slightly descending, then reach the start of the ridge of the nearby peak Kožljak, where the marked path turns right and passes onto the steep western slopes of Krn, where just a little further on we join the usual path from Drežnica.
We continue in the direction of Krn and start ascending again; the path ahead leads us along an old military mule track that at first still runs along the steep western slopes, then gradually ascends onto the Krn plateau, where the slope becomes less steep.
On this section, we leave the normal path towards Krn and take the path that leads towards Krnska škrbina.
Continuing, the path ascends mostly diagonally to the right in a few hairpin turns, leading us across the Krnska plošča; as it approaches Krnska škrbina, the slope becomes quite steep, but the path remains fairly wide. Further on, the slope becomes slightly less steep, while the path itself gets steeper and climbs to a junction at Krnska škrbina, from where a beautiful view opens towards the north.
From Krnska škrbina we continue left towards Krn and Gomiščkovo zavetišče (straight down: Lepena and Dom pri Krnskih jezerih; slightly right: the path that bypasses the summit of Batognica; right: Batognica) and begin ascending steeply up a grassy slope.
Higher up, the path splits; we take the right branch towards the summit of Krn (slightly left: Gomiščkovo zavetišče). With ever-improving views, we reach the panoramic summit in just a few minutes.
We can descend via the normal route past Gomiščkovo zavetišče.
Starting point – Koča na planini Kuhinja 0:05; Koča na planini Kuhinja – Planina Slapnik 0:40; Planina Slapnik – Krnska škrbina 2:15; Krnska škrbina – Krn 0:30.

On the way: Koča na planini Kuhinja (1002m), Planina Slapnik (1250m), Krnska škrbina (2058m)