Crngrob - Sveti Križ (Križna Gora) (via Planica)

Access to starting point:
A) From Ljubljana, we drive to Medvode, and from there we continue driving towards Škofja Loka. When we get to Škofja Loka, we don't drive into the center, but we continue "straight" in the direction of Kranj. In the settlement Dorfarje we notice signs for Crngrob, which point us to the left, on the road which further leads through the mentioned village. First, we drive past the furniture salon Prevc, then past the turn-off towards the farm Pri Brojanu, and further also past the tree nurseries Cegnar and Zakotnik, and then the quite narrow road which runs through the village widens a little. After the village follows a short descent and the path leads us past a larger parking lot, which is situated by the shooting range of the Slovenian Army. After the parking lot we cross the stream Ušovca, and the road passes into the forest and starts moderately ascending. On the asphalt road, we then quickly get to the settlement Crngrob, where we park on the arranged parking lot in the middle of the village.
B) First, we drive to Kranj, and from there we continue driving towards Škofja Loka. Before we get to Škofja Loka, in the settlement Dorfarje we continue right in the direction of the settlement Crngrob. First, we drive past the furniture salon Prevc, then past the turn-off towards the farm Pri Brojanu, and further also past the tree nurseries Cegnar and Zakotnik, and then the quite narrow road which runs through the village widens a little. After the village follows a short descent and the path leads us past a larger parking lot, which is situated by the shooting range of the Slovenian Army. After the parking lot we cross the stream Ušovca, and the road passes into the forest and starts moderately ascending. On the asphalt road, we then quickly get to the settlement Crngrob, where we park on the arranged parking lot in the middle of the village.
C) From Žiri or Cerkno we drive to Škofja Loka, and from there we continue left towards Železniki. When we get closer to the area of Škofja Loka named Podlubnik, we will come to an intersection, where we continue slightly right in the direction of the settlement Pevno. A little further, we get to the next marked intersection, where we again continue right, this time in the direction of the settlements Pevno and Crngrob. A few more intersections follow, and we further follow the signs for Crngrob. When the road already loses its asphalt surface it passes into the forest and brings us to a smaller intersection by an old chapel. Here, the left road leads directly towards the church in Crngrob, but there are no arranged parking spots, therefore we continue on the right road, on which after a moderate descent in a few hundred meters we get to the arranged parking lot in Crngrob.
D) From Železniki we drive to Škofja Loka, and then before the road turns a little to the right and starts descending towards the main bus station, we continue left in the direction of the settlement Pevno. A little further, we get to the next marked intersection, where we continue right, this time in the direction of the settlements Pevno and Crngrob. A few more intersections follow, and we further follow the signs for Crngrob. When the road already loses its asphalt surface it passes into the forest and brings us to a smaller intersection by an old chapel. Here, the left road leads directly towards the church in Crngrob, but there are no arranged parking spots, therefore we continue on the right road, on which after a moderate descent in a few hundred meters we get to the arranged parking lot in Crngrob.

Route description:
From the starting point, we first walk to the church, which is situated above the village, and from there we continue on a marked path which starts left from the abandoned building. After a short ascent through a meadow, the path goes into the forest and then after a few minutes joins a cart track, on which we continue. The moderately ascending cart track turns a little to the left and then turns right and temporarily starts descending. The descent ends after a few minutes, and then we start moderately ascending on the path which a little further leads past a bench a few meters away. We follow the marked path which for some time continues through the forest and then the forest ends and past the hayrack we reach the macadam road, where from the right an unmarked path from the settlement Dorfarje also joins.
We continue straight on the road which becomes asphalted and which past the bench and the water trough brings us to a somewhat larger intersection, where we continue left in the direction of Planica (here we will notice the NOB monument to the right and straight from the path). The path ahead leads us on the asphalt road, on which we quickly get to the settlement Planica, where at the first houses we continue sharply right in the direction of the church on Planica. At the nearby religious symbol (cross) we leave the road and continue on a pleasant footpath which starts moderately ascending. The footpath continues through the forest, only on the part where the path leads past a holiday cottage a nice view opens up temporarily, which reaches to Polhograjsko hribovje and Lubnik. Higher, the path brings us to an indistinct ridge, on which in a minute or two of further walking we get to the church of St. Archangel Gabriel on Planica.
From the top, we continue on the macadam road which at the nearby residential house becomes asphalted, and we descend on it to a smaller chapel by the water intake, where the road turns left.
Here, where from the left a path joins which bypasses the top of Planica, we continue straight on a cart track which starts lightly descending. The cart track soon descends even steeper, and then brings us out of the forest onto a panoramic grassy slope, from which a nice view opens up on part of Škofjeloško hribovje (view on the hills from Lubnik over Stari vrh to Blegoš). Across the panoramic slope the path ascends lightly, and then returns to the forest, through which it again starts descending. Lower, we reach the macadam road which we follow straight, on which we ascend lightly to the nearby bus turnaround. At the NOB monument we again come out of the forest, and then on the asphalt road we descend to a relatively new and well-maintained parking lot, which is situated above the village Križna Gora.
From here a little more descent follows, and then past the turn-off of the path to the settlement Praprotno, we get to an intersection in the middle of the village Križna Gora, from where we continue right in the direction of the church and the hunting cottage. We continue on a quite panoramic and at first still asphalt road which gently ascends towards the high-voltage power line. After the power line, the road levels out, or even descends slightly, and then a footpath branches off to the left from it, which leads directly towards the church of the Holy Cross.
We continue on the mentioned footpath which runs parallel to the road and on which in a few minutes we get to the already mentioned church.
From the church, from where a nice view opens up, we continue on a well-beaten path which continues a little to the right and returns to the road which we left shortly before. When we step onto the road we continue slightly left and in a minute of further walking we get to the hunting cottage, which is situated at the edge of the forest.
Crngrob - Planica 1:30, Planica - Sveti Križ 45 min.
Description and pictures refer to the condition in 2015 (March).

Along the route: Cerkev Marijinega oznanjenja (Crngrob) (426m), Sveti nadangel Gabrijel (Planica) (824m)

The trip can be extended to the following destinations: Vrh soteske (Križna gora)

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