Zgornja Polskava - Ruška koča na Arehu (via Kočna)

Access to starting point:
From the highway exit Slovenska Bistrica-north, we head towards Slovenska Bistrica. Bistrica and at the crossroads Slov. Bistrica-Maribor we turn right on the old road to Maribor until reaching the village Zg. Polskava. In the center of Zg. Polskava (opposite the post office) is a parking lot, where we can park in front of the KUD building on street Mladinska ul. 12.

Path description:
We start from the sign PD Pohorje in the center of the settlement Zg. Polskava (Mladinska ul. 12), over the bridge and by the river Polskava we follow the blazes on the regional road to a crossing, where we turn left on the road for Kočno. At a sharp turn we follow the blaze to the left, on a forest path to the road where it leads us to the village Kočno, one of the most beautiful villages in Slovenia. Through the village we can view an outdoor museum at every farm.
On the road, we follow the blazes to the forest, where we turn at a sharp turn right into the forest to the ruins of the castle Gromberg. At the castle we turn on a marked path left and back again to the road. We continue to the chapel where we turn from the road right through the forest to the church of St. Martin.
At the end of the church of St. Martin we turn right, through the village Šmartno na Pohorju, on the road past the inn Dovnik to the crossroad for Bojtina and Frajhajm.
We turn right through the forest onto the road, and we follow the blazes to a sharp turn, continuing through the forest to a cross by the road. We must pay attention to the blaze on the right side of the pasture, where we proceed diagonally along the edge of the pasture from beneath the church of St. Uršula to the forest, and we descend to the river Polskava and cross the footbridge. Next follows a steep ascent out of the forest onto a meadow, then again steeply into the forest. Out of the forest we arrive at Tri cerkve, where a wooden holiday cottage now stands, and the path leads right on a forest cart track almost to the top. Before the peak to the left is a marked and signposted path to the source of the river Polskava (wooden trough), where we can fill up with clean, energy-rich water from beneath Žigartov vrh; there and back is a few minutes of walking. We continue straight on the cart track and after ten minutes we pass out of the forest at a holiday cottage to the church of St. Areh, where the Ruška koča and our destination are located.

On the way: Reka Polskava (338m), Muzej na prostem - vas Kočno (402m), Grad Gromberg (427m), Cerkev sv. Martina (774m), Gasilski dom Šmartno na Pohorju (773m), Cerkev sv. Uršule (1006m), Izvir reke Polskave (1204m), Ruška koča na Arehu mountain hut (1246m), Cerkev sv. Areha (1246m)