Podsreda - Svete gore (skozi Osredek pri Podsredi)

Access to starting point:
We drive to the center of the Podsreda settlement, where we park at one of the parking lots in the town center. We can also park on the outskirts of the settlement near the cemetery, sports field, or fire station.

Route description:
From the center of Podsreda, we follow the signs for Grad Podsreda, where after the NOB monument we carefully cross the main road, then continue along the side road that heads south. A gentle descent follows past a few houses, then the road forks, and we take the slightly right road, which has signs for Grad Podsreda (left to Levstikov mlin).
A little further on, in front of the nearby house, we leave the road slightly to the right onto a cart track that ascends parallel to the road and transversely above the aforementioned house. On this section, we get a nice view towards Stara sveti gora from the path, and the path then enters the forest, where we follow the well-maintained Grajska pot. In the lower part of the path, it leads us over a few wooden bridges, followed by fairly frequent ascents on steps. Higher up, the path, lined with numerous information boards, levels out temporarily, then mostly continues on a cart track that ascends transversely through the forest to the left. When we are already quite close to the castle, we reach a small valley where there is a castle pond, and a little further the path forks.
We continue straight ahead (sharply right leads to Florjanova kapelica and from there to Grad Podsreda or to Zavetišče v Pečicah) and then ascend along the fence to Grad Podsreda.
We bypass the castle on the right side, and above the castle we reach an asphalt road, which we follow left towards Veliki vrh and Svete gore.
We continue the ascent along the asphalt road, which takes us past two parking lots, then we ascend through the forest to a marked junction, where we continue right in the direction of Pišec, Bizeljski vrh, and Veliki vrh (left to Svete gore).
A little further from the junction, we leave the forest, where on a larger meadow the road turns left and forks again.
This time we take the left road, along which the Knafelčeve markers continue (straight ahead Slovenska turno kolesarska pot), and which soon re-enters the forest. A transverse ascent through the forest follows; when the forest ends on the left, a view opens to the nearby Rigelj, the peak with antennas, and we quickly ascend to a marked junction, where the path from Zavetišče v Pečicah joins from the right, specifically the path past the Švajger farmstead.
The path ahead leads us with nice views along the pastures of the Pusti Vrh hamlet, then temporarily returns to the forest. When we leave the forest, with views of Veliki vrh, the highest peak of the Orlice range, we walk to a junction in the middle of the Preska hamlet, where we go left towards Bizeljski and Svete gore (straight to Veliki Špiček and Veliki vrh). The path continues along a narrower asphalt road, which we follow to its end, i.e., the farmstead at the end of the road.
East of the farmstead, we quickly return to the forest, where we continue along a path that gradually begins to descend, and lower down it is partially overgrown in places, with some fallen trees across the path. Later, the path levels out, and it continues to descend gently to the junction at the signpost.
At the junction, there is also the information board Bukovi gozdovi Orlice, which we bypass on the left side (sharply left to Grad Podsreda and Podsreda, right unmarked forest road leading to the Kerin monument), then continue along the gravel road that heads northeast. We continue through the forest for a while longer, then at the first or last house in the village of Zagaj we reach an asphalt road, along which we continue.
The path ahead leads with nice views of Veliki Špiček, and in the Vrhovnica hamlet, a marked path from Bizeljsko joins from the right.
We continue straight, and also at the next intersection we go straight, then through the forest to the Svete Gore pass, where we join the path from the direction of Bistrica ob Sotli and the Bizeljska vas pass.
Here we go slightly left, then ascend to the top of Svete gore either left along the footpath or straight along the steep road. In both cases, it is a little more than five minutes to the top, and it is definitely worth making a loop.

Podsreda - Grad Podsreda 0:40, Grad Podsreda - junction above Grad Podsreda 0:10, junction above Grad Podsreda - junction at Marof 0:05, junction at Marof - Pusti Vrh 0:20, Pusti Vrh - Preska 0:15, Preska - Signpost 0:45, Signpost - Vrhovnica 0:30, Vrhovnica - Svete Gore pass 0:20, Svete Gore pass - Svete gore 0:10.

Description and images refer to the condition in March 2026.

Along the route: Podsreda castle (475m), Razpotje za Gradom Podsreda (524m), Razpotje na Marofu (544m), Pusti Vrh (634m), Preska (625m), Tabla (500m), Vrhovnica (473m), Preval Svete Gore (455m)

We recommend: trips from the same starting point, similar trips, summit register