Zgornja Polskava - Sveti Martin (Šmartno na Pohorju) (through Polskavski vintgar)

Access to starting point:
a) We leave the Ljubljana - Maribor highway at the Slovenska Bistrica north exit, then follow the signs for Slovenska Bistrica. When we reach the old Celje - Maribor road, we turn right and drive to the center of the Zgornja Polskava settlement, where the described path begins near the fire station. We park at one of the parking lots in the settlement.
b) We leave the Maribor - Ljubljana highway at the Fram exit and follow the signs for Fram. When we reach the old Maribor - Celje road, we turn left and drive to the center of the Zgornja Polskava settlement, where the described path begins near the fire station. We park at one of the parking lots in the settlement.

Path description:
From the spot where we parked, we first walk to the fire station Zgornja Polskava and continue on a side road that runs along the stream Polskava. The gentle road that leads us through the settlement splits at the inn Kalan.
We continue slightly to the right in the direction of the path through Polskavski vintgar or the cottage Ruška koča na Arehu (to the left is the village Kočno and a shorter path to Sveti Trije Kralji), where we initially pass a few more houses, then the gentle road continues through meadows and forest, following the blazes at crossroads. When the asphalt ends, the road becomes somewhat steeper and transitions into a narrower part of the gorge named Polskavski vintgar. Here we mostly ascend diagonally through the forest, and when the road turns from northeast to southwest, we soon notice a blaze on the right that directs us downward to the right, onto a footpath that leads to the waterfall Šum.
From the waterfall, we continue to the left and return to the road via a slightly less steep path, continuing our mostly diagonal ascent. Eventually, the road flattens completely for a while and leads us over a bridge to the left bank of the stream Velika Polskava, and we continue along the stream. A little further, past a large rock with a blaze, the path splits.
The marked path toward Areh and the cycling path toward Šmartno na Pohorju continue on the wider road, but we proceed slightly to the left in the direction of the hiking path to Šmartno na Pohorju. The path ahead leads us along a poorer road that continues beside the stream, and after the spot where we cross the stream (crossing can be quite awkward at higher water levels), the path turns into a cart track and soon into a footpath. We quickly reach another cart track, which we follow to the right downward, and upon leaving the forest, we gently ascend through a small meadow, passing a pond to reach a small cottage, which we bypass on the left side. The path ahead returns to the forest, and at a few smaller crossroads, we follow the blazes while mostly ascending diagonally. Higher up, the path turns more to the left and reaches the edge of a pasture, where it begins to fade. Here we continue along the grazing fence, and when we reach a cart track higher up, we turn to the right. While walking along the cart track, another path from the settlement Zgornja Polskava joins from the left, but we continue straight, leaving the forest and, with beautiful views of the eastern part of Pohorje, arrive at the church of St. Martin.
Starting point - waterfall Šum 1:15, waterfall Šum - Sveti Martin 1:30.
The description and pictures refer to the condition in March 2024.

On the way: Slap Šum (Polskavski vintgar) (465m)