Ponikva pri Žalcu - Source of Ločanka (by Ponikvica)

Access to starting point:
We leave the Styrian motorway at the Arja vas exit, then follow the road in the direction of Velenje. At the end of the settlement Velika Pirešica we leave the main road towards Velenje and continue driving left onto the side road in the direction of Ponikva pri Žalcu. In continuation we drive along a somewhat narrower and for the most part ascending road, which we follow to the fire station in Ponikva pri Žalcu, where we park in one of the nearby arranged parking lots.
There are also some possibilities for parking next to the church of St. Pankracija and next to the cemetery.

Path description:
From the fire station we first walk to the church of St. Pankracija, where we continue along the left side of the church (the marked path to Apno leads along the right side), where the path leads us past several houses, the branch primary school and the kindergarten under construction to the chapel at which we arrive at the intersection.
We continue left (to the right the drivable road towards Jama pekel) and then immediately right, so that we go along the Banovšek farm. This is followed by some descent, at the last house we go onto the arranged path, along which we walk to the nearby spring.
From the spring we return to the road bend, then continue downstream along the Ponikvica, the path leads us along the left bank of the stream. In parts a somewhat less visible trail leads us past several smaller springs, when the small valley widens we reach a cart track, along which we do not continue since we continue to follow the left bank, the difference is only that the path moves somewhat higher on the slope above the stream, where we first climb over a short steep slope, where especially when wet there is an increased risk of slipping, otherwise the mentioned part is quite short. Above the steep part we reach another cart track, which descends parallel to the stream to the nearby asphalt road, when we reach the asphalt road we go right and walk along it to the bridge over the Ponikvica. Here we leave the road and in a few dozen steps walk to the Požiralnik Ponikvice, where however if we approach the edge there is a great risk of slipping.
From the Požiralnik Ponikvice we return to the road and along it continue further or towards the southwest, where at the nearby intersection we reach the marked path.
Here we go left and in a few steps arrive at the Izvir Ločanke.

Starting point - Požiralnik Ponikvice 0:30, Požiralnik Ponikvice - Izvir Ločanke 0:02.

The description and photos refer to the state in February 2026.

On the way: Sv. Pankracij (409m), Source of Ponikvica (378m), Požiralnik Ponikvice (350m)