Zgornja Bistrica (Center Vintgar) - Veliki vrh (on Pohorje) (via Veliko Tinje)

Access to the starting point:
Drive into the centre of Slovenska Bistrica, from where you can follow the road towards Zgornja Bistrica and Bistriški Vintgar. Follow the signs for Bistriški Vintgar and park in the parking lot next to the Vintgar Centre.

Path description:
From the parking lot at Centrum Vintgar, return to the road and continue in the direction of Bistriški Vintgar. Walk along the road, or pavement, for a short distance, and then on the left side of the road you will see signs for 3 kings, which direct you to the left, to the path that crosses the Bistrica River via a small bridge. The path continues through the forest, and we somehow follow a better-beaten path, as the markings are rather sparse and faded. A little further on, we climb along the edge of the forest to the nearby cart track, where we go left, slightly downhill. Quickly reach an asphalt road and follow it to the right, climbing up through the village of Visole. Continue straight through the village at the crossroads, and when the houses end at the "transmitter", continue slightly right, following the dirt road. Continue past a small football field and, with beautiful views over part of Styria, you will reach the next unmarked crossroads.
This time continue slightly to the left, passing the nearby water tower on the left, and the path enters the woods and climbs cross-country on the cart track. When you leave the forest, you reach an asphalt road by the houses, and we continue straight on to the dirt road at the nearby crossroads, just crossing the road towards Turiška vas na Pohorju.
There is a marker on a power pole along the dirt road, and we continue along it, enjoying the beautiful views. After a few minutes, the path turns into a forest and becomes asphalted, descending to the main road leading to Veliki Tinj. Continue through the village, turning left at the crossroads, and a few steps after the crossroads, turn right onto the steps leading up to the Church of St Peter and Paul, which you pass on your left. After the church, cross the access road and continue along the hedge, then cross the meadow back to the tarmac road, which ascends to an unmarked crossroads. From the crossroads, continue along the upper right-hand road, with a waymark on the right. A little further on you reach a few more houses, where you go right to cart track, which rises crosswise above the road. Follow the signs through the forest at the crossroads, and a few minutes higher up, leave the forest and continue climbing along the path that continues along the edge of the forest. Higher up, the path turns right and returns to the forest, through which you climb to an asphalt road, which you reach at a small crossroads.
Continue left up (straight up a side road to reach St Urho Church, right down to return to Veliko Tinje.
Climb up the asphalt road for a few minutes, then opposite the Repnik homestead (the homestead is located in the small hamlet of Rep), by the memorial, continue into the forest, through which you first climb, then the trail flattens out and, mostly in a gentle ascent, crosses the slopes to the left, where you approach the road fully. A little further on, we leave the forest and continue to the right, initially along the edge of the forest, and at a small pass, an unmarked path joins us from the right, leading past the Church of St Urho.
Go slightly to the left here, crossing the lane of the forest, and leave the forest at the hunting observation post. The path ahead takes us along the gently sloping cart track, which leads us through the forest to Planina pod Šumikom, where we cross the asphalt road leading to St. Three Kings.
Cross the main road and continue along the side road, which leads past the chapel to the Škrinjar homestead, which is bypassed on the underside, and before the next homestead, Mlakar, the signs direct us right into the forest. A slightly steeper climb through the forest follows, where we follow the markings, and when the path is laid, we are joined on the right by a marked path past Močnik.
Continue straight ahead, followed by a few minutes of gentle to moderate climbing, and then you will reach the Hotel Jakec, above which is the Church of St. Three Kings.
From the Church of the Three Kings, continue towards the Black Lake and the Urška Trail, where you will quickly reach the edge of the nearby ski slope of the RTC Jakec - Trije kralji ski resort. The way forward initially takes you along the edge of the forest, just a few metres away from the ski slope, and higher up you cross the ski slope to the right (during ski slope opening hours, you cross the ski slope above the ski lift). On the other side of the ski slope, the path goes slightly to the right and leads under the reservoir.
A little beyond the lake, we reach the connecting ski slope, which we continue to climb (during ski slope opening hours, we walk along the leftmost edge of the ski slope), and when we reach the second ski slope a few minutes higher up, where the marked path to the Black Lake crosses the ski slope, we continue along the left edge, where there are also signs for the Urška Trail. A few minutes of steeper climbing follows and, with increasingly beautiful views, we reach a bench on the Big Top, from where we have a beautiful view of Pohorje and the valley.

From here you can continue another 10 m into the forest, where the highest point of the summit is located.
Starting point - Veliko Tinje 1:20, Veliko Tinje - St. Three Kings 2:00, St. Three Kings 0:30.
Description and pictures refer to the situation in January and July 2022.

On the way: Visole (428m), Church of St. Peter and Paul (Veliko Tinje) (655m), Sveti Trije kralji (1181m)

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