Leskova dolina - Snežnik

Access to starting point:
A) From Cerknica or Nova vas na Blokah we first drive to Bloška Polica, from there we continue driving in the direction of Lož and Babno Polje. In the settlement Pudob we turn right in the direction of Snežnik, Ilirska Bistrica, Knežak and the nearby settlement Kozarišče. In Kozarišče we continue slightly left in the direction of Snežnik and also in the following crossroads we follow the road in the direction of Snežnik. When Kozarišče ends, the asphalt ends too, and we immediately after the bridge over Mali Obrh continue left in the direction of Mašun and Knežak. There follows a relatively long drive on a macadam road, which we follow for approximately 11 km or to Leskova dolina, where we park on one of the parking lots by the road.
B) We drive to Pivka, from there we continue driving towards Knežak. In Knežak at the marked crossroad we continue left in the direction of Mašun and the settlements Bač and Koritnice. A little further we go right in the direction of Mašun and Koritnice (straight Bač). After Koritnice the road starts to ascend more noticeably, and after 18 km from the main crossroad in Knežak it brings us to Mašun, from where we continue driving right in the direction of Sviščaki. After approximately 2 km of macadam road from Mašun we arrive at a crossroad, where we continue on the left lower road (right road leads towards Sviščaki), along which we drive for another approximately 7 km, or to Leskova dolina, where we park at an appropriate place by the road.
C) First we drive to Ilirska Bistrica, then we continue driving towards Sviščaki (the turn-off is in the middle of Ilirska Bistrica and is marked, perhaps a little less noticeable). Initially we ascend on an asphalt road, then after just under 12 km of ascent asphalt changes to macadam. There follows another approximately 7 km of macadam, then we arrive at a crossroad in the immediate vicinity of the Planinski dom na Sviščakih mountain hut, where we continue straight towards the nearby Planinski dom na Sviščakih mountain hut. From the mountain hut we continue driving towards Mašun, where after a further 10 km of macadam we arrive at a crossroad, where we turn sharply right towards Leskova dolina (straight Mašun 2 km). From the crossroad we drive another approximately 7 km, or to Leskova dolina, where we park at an appropriate place by the road.

Route description:
By the road that brings us to Leskova dolina we notice mountain direction signs for Snežnik, which direct us to a footpath that through a strip of forest quickly brings us to a forest road that leads to Lepi Dol. We merely cross the mentioned road, and we continue the ascent on the marked path, which quickly enters dense forest. Further the path continues on a cart track that has some marked shortcuts, then we step on a macadam road, which we follow to the left.
We continue the ascent on the mentioned macadam road, which after approximately 20 minutes of further walking brings us to a marked crossroad, where we continue right in the direction of Snežnik and Gašperjev hrib. From the crossroad onwards the road starts to ascend somewhat more steeply, and higher it brings us to the starting point of the path Gašperjev hrib - Snežnik. At the mentioned starting point we leave the road and continue the ascent on the marked footpath in the direction of Snežnik.
The path ahead first steeply ascends on a cart track, then levels out and after a few minutes of further walking turns into a pleasant path that leads us further on and along an indistinct ridge. The path ahead soon brings us to a vantage point on Snežnik, which then slightly descends and brings us into a strip of dense forest, where it ascends transversely further on. Higher the path brings us to a larger meadow, from which a nice view opens up on the surrounding hills. Further we continue for some time on the panoramic grassy slope, then the path returns to the forest, where it starts to ascend steeply. From the forest we soon pass among dwarf pines, through which we continue the ascent on the increasingly panoramic slope. There follows a short descent and from the left a less visited path from Grčovec joins us.
We continue in the direction of Snežnik and continue the ascent on the marked path, which brings us from the dwarf pines to the unvegetated summit slopes of Snežnik. This increasingly panoramic path we then follow all the way to the summit, which we reach after a few minutes of further walking.

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