Podrožca / Rosenbach - Rosenbachsattel/Rožca

Access to starting point:
Through the Karawanks Tunnel, we drive into Austria, then we drive on the motorway towards Beljak, which we leave at the first exit. From the point where we left the motorway, we follow the signs for the village Šentjakob v Rožu / Sankt Jakob im Rosental. When we arrive in the mentioned village, we leave the main road and continue driving right towards the village Podrožca / Rosenbach. After a few kilometres of further driving, we arrive near the railway station in Podrožca, where we continue left downhill, then at the next intersection right towards the valley Medji Dol / Bärental. Further, we drive on a somewhat narrower asphalt road, which we follow to the first intersection, where we notice hiking signposts. We park in a suitable place by the road.
From the toll station at Hrušica to the starting point, there is approximately 23 km.

Route description:
From the starting point, we head onto the left road following the signs for Rožca / Rosenbachsattel (straight ahead Kepa / Mittagskogel). The road first crosses a bridge over the stream Gračenica / Schönbrunnen, then starts first gently, later moderately ascending through the forest. Further on, we ascend for quite some time along the forest road, then arrive at a marked junction at an altitude of 900 metres.
Here, a road branches off to the left towards Golica / Kahlkogel, while we continue slightly right towards Rožca. From the junction onwards, the road temporarily descends to the nearby stream, which it then also crosses. On the other side of the stream, we start ascending again, and the marked path splits into two parts. We can continue further along the road or turn left onto the marked footpath, which starts to ascend more steeply and continues through the forest. Higher up, the path returns to the road and leaves it again at the sharp right bend. We continue through the forest along an occasionally steeper and, in the upper part, more overgrown slope. Higher up, we join a cart track and follow it to the left. From the cart track, we soon turn left onto the path towards Rožca, while to the right the path continues to Koprivnjak.
The path ahead crosses a torrent, then we ascend for a few more minutes through the forest. A little further on, the path turns right and takes us out of the forest, where we quickly reach the mountain pasture Rožca, where on the right side we notice a larger shepherd hut.
A little before the hut, yellow hiking markers direct us left towards the Koča na Golici hut, the Rožca saddle and Hruški vrh. The path ahead first leads transversely across the mountain pasture, then starts first gently, then moderately ascending, following the blazes at this point, as the trail across the pasture is occasionally hard to follow. When we reach the edge of the mountain pasture, the path turns slightly right and becomes clearly visible. Further on, in a few rare zigzags, we start ascending towards the state border with Slovenia. Higher up, with increasingly beautiful views, we reach the border ridge, from where a beautiful view also opens up onto the Slovenian mountains.
Here, the path continues left towards Klek, right towards Hruški vrh, while we continue straight downhill along a poorer trail, by which we quickly descend to Makotova bajta on Rožca.
Podrožca - Planina Rožca 2:45, Planina Rožca - Rožca 35 minutes.

Along the route: Roschitzaalm (1407m)

The trip can be extended to the following destinations: Klek ( 20 min), Rosenkogel/Hruški vrh ( 30 min), Frauenkogel/Dovška Baba (1 h 20 min)

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