Podkraj / Unterort - Alpengasthof Siebenhütten

Access to starting point:
A) We drive into Austria via the Jezerski vrh border crossing, then after approximately 6 km past Železno Kaplo / Bad Eisenkappel we turn right towards Velikovec / Völkermarkt. We follow the main road towards Velikovec for 2 km, then turn right again, this time in the direction of Pliberk / Bleiburg. Further, we drive through the Podjuna valley, then at the next major intersection we turn right towards Pliberk. The road leads through several roundabouts, and we follow it further in the direction of the Peca / Petzen ski area. Further, we drive through Bistrica pri Pliberku / Feistritz ob Bleiburg to the large parking lot at the lower station of the cable car to Peca. From the Jezerski vrh border crossing to the starting point it is approximately 40 km.
B) From Dravograd or Slovenj Gradec we drive to Ravne na Koroškem, then continue driving in the direction of the Holmec border crossing. When we enter Austria we first drive towards Pliberk / Bleiburg, then follow the signs for the Peca / Petzen ski area. Further, we drive through several villages and follow the road to the large parking lot at the lower station of the cable car to Peca. From the Holmec border crossing to the starting point it is approximately 8 km.

Route description:
From the parking lot, we first walk to the lower station of the circular cabin cable car to Peca, then head to the path marked No. 3, 7 and 8. The path initially leads along a wide cart track, along which we quickly reach the ski slope. We continue along the left edge of the ski area, then the path turns slightly right and takes us into dense forest. Here it levels out and joins a cart track, along which we descend slightly to the nearby marked junction.
From the junction we continue along the left ascending road, where the signs for path No. 3 and 7 also direct us. Just a few minutes higher, the road splits into two parts, where we continue left along path No. 3 (right initially slightly downhill path No. 7, which leads towards Veška planina). About 100 m higher, we join the marked path leading from the village Rute / Ruttach, so further on we cross a poor forest road several times. Higher up, the road along which we occasionally continue for a while finally ends, and we proceed between two rocks into the forest. The path ahead climbs steeply through the forest, which provides pleasant shade on hot days. Higher up the forest gradually thins, and fine views open up towards Podjuna and the Golica range. A little further on, the trail turns sharply left and brings us below the steep slopes of Mala Peca, where in the middle of a right-hand bend, the via ferrata named Walter Mory Klettersteig branches off to the left, leading to the upper station of the circular cabin cable car.
From the junction we continue right, where we first ascend transversely across steep scree, then the path turns right and crosses a small gully. We briefly cross the slopes to the right, then the path turns slightly left, quickly bringing us near a decaying wooden shack. From here we continue a short ascent to the marked junction at the hunting hut Na Križah.
At the junction before the hunting hut we continue left along path No. 3. Initially quite level, the path crosses the slopes through larch forest, then soon begins to ascend somewhat more steeply. The path continues ascending across the eastward slopes and brings us out of the forest onto a cart track. Only a short ascent remains to an artificial lake, from which there is a fine view of the surrounding peaks.
From the lake we continue along the wide path across the grassy slope to the upper cable car station, which we can already see ahead.

Along the route: Na Križah (1578m)

The trip can be extended to the following destinations: Končnikov vrh, Petzen (Kordeschkopf) (Peca (Kordeževa glava))

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