Podgrad - Mehovski hrib (gentle path)

Access to starting point:
A) Leave the Dolenjska motorway at the Novo mesto east exit, then follow the signs for Metlika. When Novo mesto ends, drive through Dolnja Težka voda past Koroška vas, then start to ascend more noticeably. After the rest area, which we notice on the left side, soon turn right towards Vinja vas and Podgrad. This is followed by driving through Vinja vas; when we arrive in Podgrad, park on the parking lot opposite the PGD Podgrad fire station and the branch primary school.
B) From Bela Krajina drive to the Vahta pass, then start descending towards Novo mesto. Leave the main road, turning left towards Vinja vas and Podgrad. This is followed by driving through Vinja vas; when we arrive in Podgrad, park on the parking lot opposite the PGD Podgrad fire station and the branch primary school.

Path description:
From the parking lot, we walk to the school sports field, which we bypass on the asphalt road that runs below the sports field. Behind the sports field we go right, we first ascend across a meadow, where a track easy to follow soon appears, which ascends transversely to the right. The path soon turns left and brings us to a junction, where the path from neighbouring Vinja vas joins from the right.
The path ahead leads us past two benches (at the first a shortcut branches off to the right), then it makes a serpentine and brings us only a little further to the spot where the demanding path "čez skalo" branches off to the left.
We continue straight, where we moderately ascend through the forest, higher, where the path turns slightly to the left, the steep path from Vinja vas also joins us from the right.
From the junction only a short ascent follows and the path brings us to the panoramic Mehovski hrib.
Description and pictures refer to the condition in October 2019.