ŽP Buzet - Špičasti vrh (pri Žbevnici) (čez Žbevnico)

Access to starting point:
a) We leave the Primorska motorway at the Črni Kal exit and continue along the old road towards the sea, but we drive on it only to the next somewhat larger intersection, where we turn left towards MP Sočerga. Along the mentioned road we drive past the town of Kubed to the village of Gračišče, where at the intersection we turn left towards Rakitovec, Movraž and Smokvica. We drive through Smokvica and Movraž to the next intersection, where we turn right towards MP Rakitovec. We can also reach here via Zazid. When we arrive in Croatia we come to a wider road coming from Buzet, we continue right towards Buzet. The road leads us over the edge to a sharp bend, from which the road towards Buzet Railway Station branches off. We head onto the narrower road, which leads us through the village and soon we arrive at the parking lot at Buzet Railway Station.
b) We leave the Primorska motorway at the Črni Kal exit and continue along the old road towards the sea, but we drive on it only to the next somewhat larger intersection, where we turn left towards MP Sočerga. We drive through Kubed and Sočerga to MP Sočerga, where we cross into Croatia. We drive to Buzet. At the first two roundabouts we go straight ahead, at the third roundabout we turn left towards Brest. We drive through Sveti Martin, then the road makes a bend. At the second sharp bend the road towards Buzet Railway Station branches off. We head onto the narrower road, which leads us through the village and soon we arrive at the parking lot at Buzet Railway Station.

Path description:
From the starting point we go back along the road to the intersection, where the signposts direct us across the railway track. Soon a wide path branches off to the left from the road. We take this path, which initially crosses the slope of the nearby peak Kuk. Soon it starts to zigzag and becomes somewhat steeper. After 20 minutes of walking from the road, we arrive over the edge, where there is a junction. We continue straight towards Žbevnica. Left to Kuk and right to Pilj. The path gently descends through the forest. We reach a gravel road, which we follow straight ahead. After about 5 minutes of walking, the signs direct us right onto the path. The path soon returns to the track, which we follow to the right. We follow the track through the forest to a meadow, where there is a junction. We continue straight (the markings are rarer here), then it turns right and returns to the track. We arrive in Slum, where there is a junction. To the right one reaches Rašpor and further to Gomila and Orljak, but we continue left and in a few steps we are at Sveti Matej, next to which there is a mighty linden tree.
From the church we continue along the road to the next intersection, where the markings direct us right. At first we walk on the asphalt road, then it turns into a track, which initially gently descends to a small meadow. Then the path steeply ascends for a short time, then turns left and traverses. To the left along the path there is a large sinkhole. After about 10 minutes of traversing with short gentle descents, the path turns right. The steep path makes short zigzags and crosses the edge onto the plateau. Through the pine forest and past the animal feeding station we reach the asphalt road leading to Brest. We just cross the road and the path is somewhat less trodden in this section. We can also continue along the road. The path returns to the road, which we follow left. The road takes us past a chapel, behind it the path cuts the bend. From the road bend the markings direct us right onto the track. We continue past a stone structure and into a strip of forest. Soon we reach the bowling green and parking lot in Brest. The signs direct us onto a wide and initially flat path into the forest. The path leads past a water catchment and soon also a concrete structure and becomes steep. We traverse right and after a few minutes we reach a technically undemanding, short steep rocky section. The path is well laid out over it, we just need to be careful not to slip. Behind the rocky section we arrive at the Planinska koča Žbevnica hut. From the hut we continue to the track, where the signs direct us straight into the forest. To the left along the track is a gentle path to Žbevnica. The initially flat path leads us through dense pine forest and past a concrete structure with blue doors. The path turns right and the forest gradually thins. The steep and serpentine path brings us, with increasingly beautiful views over Istria, to the panoramic grassy wide summit ridge. 5 minutes of walking over grassy terrain separate us from the top of Žbevnica. From the top we have a beautiful view in all directions.
From the top we continue northwards. The wide path steeply descends to a small saddle, where a gentle path joins us from the left, but we continue straight along the ridge over an unnamed peak, behind it the path descends again. The marked path leads strictly along the ridge, where the path is barely traceable, the track goes a little aside from the ridge and is well traceable. The path begins to ascend and soon we arrive at Muzare, from where we have a beautiful view in all directions.
We continue along the grassy ridge, which begins to descend. The path then levels out and we reach a junction, where we turn onto the trail. Straight ahead the path to Golič, which bypasses Špičasti vrh. The path ascends along the panoramic grassy slope and in 5 minutes we are at Špičasti vrh.
The description and photos refer to the condition in November 2024 and 2025.

On the way: Sveti Matej (Slum) (505m), Planinarska kuća Žbevnica (851m), Žbevnica (1014m), Muzari (985m)