Podkraj / Unterort - Feistritzer Spitze

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

Path description:
From the parking lot, we first walk to the bottom station of the circular gondola lift that goes to Peca, and then we head to the path marked no. 3, 7 and 8. The path first leads along a wide cart track, along which we quickly arrive at the ski slope. We continue along the left edge of the ski area, then the path turns slightly to the right and takes us into a dense forest. Here it levels out and joins a cart track, along which we slightly descend 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. Only 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). Roughly 100 m higher, we join the marked path that comes from the village Rute / Ruttach, so that further on we cross a poor forest road several times. Higher up, the road along which we occasionally continue for some time finally ends, and we proceed between two rocks into the forest. The path ahead steeply ascends through the forest, which on hot days provides pleasant shade. Higher up the forest gradually thins out, and fine views open up towards Podjune and the Golica range. A little further on, the trail turns sharply left and takes 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 gondola lift.
From the junction we continue right, where we first ascend transversely across steep scree, then the path turns right and crosses a smaller gully. For a short time we cross the slopes to the right, then the path turns slightly to the left, quickly bringing us near a dilapidated wooden shack. From here we continue with a short ascent and arrive at the marked junction at the hunting hut Na Križah.
At the junction we leave path no. 3 and continue right along path no. 4, which leads to Bistriška špica. From the junction the path descends slightly, then turns sharply right and gradually transitions to the slopes that we saw on the right side of the valley during the ascent. Here the path first ascends transversely through a belt of dwarf pines, then enters the forest, where it briefly crosses a steeper slope. The path ahead begins to ascend steeply and continuously leads us through larch forest. Higher we reach the ridge of Najbrževa peč, where the path turns left and gradually levels out. Further on we walk for some time along the edge (a few metres away) of cliffs, from which a fine view opens towards the valley, Svinja and Golica. Only a little higher, the path completely levels out and takes us to a vast meadow, across which we begin first gently, then more steeply to ascend. A short steep ascent follows through a belt of dwarf pines and the increasingly panoramic path quickly brings us to the main ridge of Peca, where we join the path from Globasnica and Koprivna.
Here we continue left and in less than 5 minutes of further walking we ascend to the summit of Bistriška špica.

On the way: Na Križah (1578m)

Trip can be extended to: Končnikov vrh , Petzen (Kordeschkopf) (Peca (Kordeževa glava))