Sedlo Honec - Sveti Križ above Bele Vode (Path Logarska pot around Sveti Križ)

Access to the starting point:
a) From the route of Maribor, take the motorway to the Arja vas exit, where you turn right in the direction of Velenje or Slovenj Gradec. Drive through Veliko Pirešica, Črnová and Vinská Gora to Velenje, where you continue straight past the Gorenje factory in the direction of Šoštanj. A little after Velenje, at the roundabout, turn in the direction of Šoštanj. In Šoštanj, at the roundabout by the TES, continue straight in the direction of Beli Vod. In Florjan, just after the bridge over the Pako River and the railway line, continue straight ahead on the non-priority road in the direction of Beli Vodi at the crossroads. Follow the road straight ahead, only at a major T-junction turn right again in the direction of Beli Vod. When you arrive in the town, you first have to climb up a steep road to the centre of the town, where the Church of St Andrew is located. Drive a little further to the Savinek agritourism farm, where you turn left onto a steep descending road which, after a few turns, takes you to the starting point at the Honec saddle.
b) From the direction of Ljubljana, take the motorway to the Šentrupert exit, passing through Preserje, Male Braslovče and Letuš towards Šmartné ob Paki. From here, continue to the village of Gorenje, where you turn right onto the main road towards Velenje. Shortly before Velenje, turn towards Šoštanj at the roundabout. In Šoštanj, at the roundabout by the TES, continue straight on towards Beli Vod. In Florjan, just after the bridge over the Pako River and the railway line, continue straight on the non-priority road towards Beli Vodi at the junction. Follow the road straight ahead, only at a major T-junction turn right again in the direction of Beli Vod. When you arrive in the town, you first have to climb up a steep road to the centre of the town, where the Church of St Andrew is located. Drive a little further to the Savinek agritourism farm, where you turn left onto a steep descending road which, after a few turns, takes you to the starting point at the Honec saddle.

Path description:
Our journey is made up of two paths. First, we will take the circular route around the Holy Cross above Beli Voda, which was opened in 2017, beautifully maintained by the Vulkan Sports Association from Beli Voda and named the Logarska (Forestry) Trail around the Holy Cross because of its route through the forest. The hike takes about an hour and a half, and the trail is beautifully marked with a volcano sign and arrows.
Since the circular route does not lead over the top of the Holy Cross and it is a pity not to visit the top with the pilgrimage church and a wonderful view of the Šaleška and Savinja valleys, from the starting point and the end of the circular route (the Honec saddle), we take a good half an hour of steeply ascending road to the top of the Holy Cross.
The circular Logar Trail around Sveti Križ starts at the turn-off of the road to the summit, where there is also a large wooden cross. From the cross, descend slightly downhill to cart track, which leads into the forest. Shortly after entering the forest, cart track splits, we follow the lower one but only to the point where it starts to climb. Here we turn slightly left downhill and soon right onto the track. Walk for a while on a moderately ascending track, which leads to a rocky forest logging trail. Follow Logging trail for some time, in between individual views of the isolated farms of Beli Vod and Šoštanj open up. When logging trail starts to climb, turn left onto a narrow path that slowly descends. The path leads to a small clearing where you turn right and then continue along the lower cart track until you reach the edge of the forest below which the farm is located. Here turn right and slowly start climbing cart track through the woods until you bear left onto a track which turns into cart track and back onto a narrow track. Soon you come under a rock face, where the track first descends alongside it and finally rises steeply past mighty beech trees above the rock face. From here, follow the track downhill, which turns into a dirt track. This path soon leads to the starting point at the Honec saddle.
We climb Sveti Križ (Donkey Mountain) on a steep asphalted road. After a few bends, you reach the parking area at the top, where two large pilgrimage houses stand. Just behind the building is a chapel with the holy steps of the Stations of the Cross. Follow the stairs alongside it to the top where the two Holy Cross churches stand. First a smaller one was built in 1840, and a larger one was built in 1857 due to the increasing number of pilgrims. Interestingly, both churches were consecrated by Bishop Anton Martin Slomšek, the larger one just before his death. A transmitter is mounted on a rock a little away from both churches. If you climb up to the transmitter, you will have a beautiful view of the Šaleška valley with Velenje and Šoštanj, the Savinja valley from Mozirje to Celje, and the Smrekov Mountains. We also have a very nice view of the nearby Mozirsko mountain pasture, Mount Oljeka, Menina, Kum, Čemšeniška mountain, etc.

On the way: Sedlo Honec (817m), Cerkev Svetega Križa nad Belimi Vodami (1054m)

We recommend: similar trips, Inscription book