Gorjane (Železno) - Veliki vrh (Orlica)

Access to starting point:
a) From the Sevnica - Krško road, head towards Brestanica, then follow the signs for Podsredo. Before descending towards Podsredo, in the settlement of Gorjane we reach the Železno pass, where the described trail starts next to the Gorjane bus stop. There are no suitable parking spots at the starting point.
b) Drive to Podsredo, then follow the signs for Krško, Sevnica and Brestanica. Before descending towards Brestanica, in the settlement of Gorjane we reach the Železno pass, where the described trail starts next to the Gorjane bus stop. There are no suitable parking spots at the starting point.

Route description:
From the bus stop, head onto the side road marked for Grad Podsreda and Ekološka kmetija Krivec, where the trail leads past a few more houses, and at the next junction go straight towards Grad Podsreda. The road then moderately ascends, later passing a cross and one house, then continues through the forest for a while. Higher up, the road levels out and brings us to a marked junction, from where we continue straight towards Grad Podsreda (right to Krško and Brestanica).
A slight transverse descent through the forest follows, and we arrive at a well-maintained rest area near the chapel of St. Florian, from where a nice view of Grad Podsreda opens up.
Continue along the road and within a few more minutes of walking, we reach the castle, where there is a stamping box on the outer side of the wall and a stamp above it.
Bypass the castle on the right side and continue the ascent on the asphalt road, which leads past two parking lots, then ascend through the forest to a marked junction, where we go right towards Pišec, Bizeljsko and Veliki vrh (left to Svete gore).
Just a little further from the junction, we leave the forest, where on a larger meadow the road turns left and forks again.
This time choose the left road, along which the Knafelc markers continue (straight Slovenian mountain bike trail) and which soon returns to the forest. A transverse ascent through the forest follows; when the forest ends on the left, a view opens to the nearby Rigelj, the peak with antennas, and we quickly ascend to a marked junction, where the path from Zavetišče v Pečicah joins from the right, specifically the path past the Švajger farmstead.
The trail continues with nice views along the pastures of the Pusti Vrh hamlet, then temporarily returns to the forest. When we leave the forest, with views of Veliki vrh, the highest peak of the Orlica range, we walk to a junction in the middle of the Preska hamlet, where we go straight (left another path to Svete gore) to a branch towards Veliki vrh a minute away.
Before the Šulc farm, where there is a stamp, go right and bypass the farm buildings on the right side, soon reaching the forest, through which we ascend to a cart track coming from the farmyard. Here go right and ascend transversely to a junction below Veliki vrh, where we go left (right to Artiče and Zavetišče v Pečicah).
From here, just a few dozen steps remain, and we reach Veliki vrh, where there is a monument to the Slovenian tolar.

Starting point - Turnič 0:30, Turnič - Grad Podsreda 0:15, Grad Podsreda - junction after Grad Podsreda 0:10, junction after Grad Podsreda - junction at Marofu 0:05, junction at Marofu - Pusti Vrh 0:20, Pusti Vrh - Preska 0:15, Preska - Veliki vrh 0:15.

Description and photos refer to the condition in March 2026.

Along the route: Turnič (496m), Podsreda castle (475m), Razpotje za Gradom Podsreda (524m), Razpotje na Marofu (544m), Pusti Vrh (634m), Preska (625m), Razpotje pod Velikim vrhom (682m)

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