Podnar / Bodenbauer - Klagenfurter Hutte/Celovška koča

Access to starting point:
We drive to the border crossing Ljubelj and continue on the Austrian side. Soon after noticing a smaller church on the left side of the road, a road branches off to the left towards the village Poden / Bodental. At the crossroads after the village Slovenji Plajberk / Windisch Bleiberg, we turn left towards Poden / Bodental. In Poden / Bodental, we reach the mountain signposts for Celovška koča / Klagenfurter Hütte, one to the left and one to the right. We head left and drive on the road to the end of the asphalt, where on the parking lot near the grazing fences we park.

Route description:
From the parking lot, we head onto the traffic-closed forest road with signs »Marchenwiese«. The walking forest road through the forest in a gentle ascent brings us to a pleasant meadow, where a beautiful view opens up towards the northern walls of Vrtača and Palec. Further, we cross the meadow where the footpath is harder to follow and on the other side we look for a cart track which goes slightly upwards into the forest. After a few minutes' walk on the cart track, the blazes direct us to the right onto a footpath which soon crosses a torrent along which it then ascends. The path then withdraws from the torrent a little to the right and brings us to a smaller clearing, where the marked path directs us even a little more to the right. The path ahead ascends steeper and after good 30 minutes of walking brings us to a junction, where we continue left (right Vgrizeva planina 5 minutes).
The steepness here decreases and the path passes out of the forest into dwarf pines. Next follows crossing a scree, and then with the help of a steel cable we descend slightly downwards. From here onwards the path is exposed to falling stones. Further, the well-secured path starts ascending a steep rocky slope. At the top of this easier climbing section we come to a logbook box, where we sign in. The difficulty of the path then disappears and in a traversing ascent we come to the saddle Vrata. The path ahead starts descending and in a few minutes brings us to a junction, where we continue straight (right Ovčji vrh) and in a few minutes of gentle descent we come to the Celovška koča.

Along the route: Vrata (1714m)

The trip can be extended to the following destinations: Srednja peč (1 h 30 min), Bielschitza/Svačica (1 h), Ovčji vrh (Kozjak) / Geissberg (Kosiak), Prešernova koča na Stolu (2 h 10 min), Vertatscha/Vrtača (2 h 30 min), Hochstuhl/Stol (2 h 15 min)

We recommend: trips from the same starting point, similar trips, panorama