Marof pri Pišecah - Podsreda castle (via Velika bukva)

Access to starting point:
a) Drive to Krško, where we first follow the signs for Brežice, then for Zdole, and after Zdole follow the signs for Bizeljsko. We continue through Sromlje, following the road to Pišece, where we park at the parking lot by the Ribnik pond, or at the starting point Marof pri Pišecah.
b) From Brežice, follow the signs for Bizeljsko, then on the flat section where the road runs through the forest, turn left onto the side road towards Globoko. In the settlement of Globoko, go right towards Pišece, and continue following the signs for Pišece. When we arrive in Pišece, park at the parking lot by the Ribnik pond, or at the starting point Marof pri Pišecah.
c) From the direction of Bistrica ob Sotli, drive towards Brežice, and at the end of the Bizeljsko settlement, turn right towards Pišece. When we arrive in Pišece, park at the parking lot by the Ribnik pond, or at the starting point Marof pri Pišecah.

Route description:
From the starting point, we continue along the right or eastern side of the pond, while a dirt road leads along its western side towards Grad Pišece. We start along the gravel road by the stream, where there are a few more parking spots available. Further on, the road becomes somewhat worse, then forks.
Slightly to the left, a path branches off towards Grad Pišece, but we continue slightly to the right along the poorer gravel (it is possible to continue past the castle, but the path is a few minutes longer). We also continue ascending along the stream. Soon, an unmarked cart track from Grad Pišece joins us from the left, and to the right another unmarked cart track branches off, which a bit further joins the marked path.
We continue uphill along the stream, where the poor road finally turns into a cart track. A bit higher, the Pot suverenosti joins us from the left – a path marked with the symbol of the Slovenian tolar, which also leads past Grad Pišece.
We continue straight north. The cart track gradually turns into a footpath, which levels out for a short time, then ascends a bit more steeply. After the ramsons patch, it turns right, moves away from the valley bottom and leads us along its head. The path then quickly turns back to the left and ascends to a forest road, which we reach near the bivouac of the Lovska družina Pišece.
Before the bivouac, go left, then red alpine direction signs for Kerinov spomenik and Pečice direct us right onto the alpine path (straight ahead Pot suverenosti), which begins to ascend through the forest. After 15 minutes of ascent, we arrive near the top of Intermedija, where we go right and in a few steps reach the highest point of the summit, from which we get some views through the treetops.
From the summit, we continue along the marked path, which begins to descend towards the southwest; lower down, we return to the road and follow it to the right. A few minutes further, we leave the road slightly to the right and continue with the path to the right of the road, later cross it and continue along the marked path that runs to the left of the road. We return to the road at a marked junction of several roads and the marked path, where we go right (left Kerinov spomenik 1-2 minutes), then the path forks again immediately.
Although the signs for Grad Podsreda direct us slightly left onto the footpath, we follow the right signs, which are for Pečice, Osredek and Pusti Vrh (the path over Veliki vrh is somewhat longer, mainly orientationally a bit more difficult to follow, and joins our path at the hamlet of Preska). The path ahead leads along an asphalt road that bypasses the summit of Šuljcev breg on the right side; when we leave the forest, we soon arrive at the hamlet of Preska, where there is a stamp at the Šulc farm, and behind the farm we join the path that leads over Veliki vrh.
We continue straight, and one minute further go straight again (this time a path to Svete gore branches off to the right). We continue past a few more houses, then the road becomes gravel and continues without major ascents or descents. Later we reach the pastures of the hamlet Pusti Vrh, and after the hamlet the road begins to descend noticeably; at the beginning of the descent, a path from Zavetišče v Pečicah joins us from the left.
Further on, we follow the signs for Grad Podsreda; the path bypasses Rigelj, the summit with antennas, on the left side. When we temporarily leave the forest lower down, we go right from the junction; when we return to the forest, we go left from the junction (right Svete Gore), then descend along the asphalt road to Grad Podsreda.

Starting point - Bivak LD Pišece 0:55, Bivak LD Pišece - Intermedija 0:15, Intermedija - Kerinov spomenik 0:25, Kerinov spomenik - Preska 0:20, Preska - Pusti Vrh 0:15, Pusti Vrh - junction at Marof 0:15, junction at Marof - junction before Grad Podsreda 0:04, junction before Grad Podsreda - Grad Podsreda 0:06.

Description and photos refer to the condition in March 2026.

Along the route: Pri Ribniku (269m), Brod (404m), Bivak Lovske družine Pišece (594m), Intermedija (662m), Kerin Memorial (614m), Veliki vrh (Orlica) (625m), Preska (625m), Pusti Vrh (634m), Razpotje na Marofu (544m), razpotje pred Gradom Podsreda (524m)

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