Dolga Njiva pasture (Krvavec)

At the top station of the Krvavec cable car you will notice numerous mountain signposts. Head towards Dom na Krvavcu and Marija Snežna (Our Lady of the Snows) on a faint path that climbs almost straight up the grassy slope. Higher up, the faint path takes you over a pasture fence, beyond which it becomes somewhat easier to follow. The fairly steep path then brings you to Dom na Krvavcu, which is already visible from the top station of the cable car (you can also get here by a rougher gravel road). From the hut, continue towards Zvoh along the road, which takes you past a chapel and the Krvavec transmitters to the Razor saddle (the saddle between the summit of Krvavec and Veliki Zvoh), where there is a road junction. Continue straight on along the ridge (right for the summit of Krvavec, 5 minutes) to the next junction, where signs for Dolga Njiva direct you left (straight on for Veliki Zvoh). The path to Dolga Njiva then crosses a ski piste and afterwards brings you onto a slope partly covered with dwarf pine. After a while, the traversing path crosses a wire fence and leaves the Krvavec ski area. The path then begins to descend, at first through dwarf pine, and then traverses down across a few small, partly overgrown scree slopes. The path then stops descending, and the path from Kokra (over the Lojtra) joins from the left. Just a few more steps bring you to the old shepherd’s hut on Dolga Njiva pasture.

You can extend the hike to the following destinations: Vrh Korena (50 min), Kalška Gora (2 h 20 min), Kalški Greben (1 h 45 min)

Kokra (Podlebelca) – Dolga Njiva pasture (Krvavec)

Latitude/Longitude: 46.31900°N 14.49860°E

Destination: Dolga Njiva pasture (Krvavec) (1,688 m)

Elevation gain along the route: 1,129 m

Map: Kamniške in Savinjske Alpe (Kamnik–Savinja Alps) 1:50,000

Recommended equipment (summer): helmet

Recommended equipment (winter): helmet, ice axe, crampons

Beyond the bridge you will notice red mountain signposts directing you onto the road that climbs through the hamlet of Podlebelca. Follow the waymarks past the houses; above the hamlet, the asphalt ends. After a short climb through the forest you reach a larger chapel, beyond which you turn left onto a waymarked cart track. The cart track forks immediately; take the right-hand branch, along which the waymarks also continue. A little higher up you reach an asphalt road leading towards the Roblek, Pestotnik and Lovrin farms; walk along it as far as the first right-hand bend. After the bend a footpath continues, climbing quickly to a point where you cross the road leading to the Lovrin farm. Continue through the forest; the path gradually moves onto an indistinct wooded ridge, which it then climbs along and beside. Higher up, cross another asphalt road, this one leading towards the Roblek farm, then climb more steeply for a few more minutes before joining the cart track that leads from the Roblek farm. Continue straight on along the cart track, which is wide at first, but soon leave it as the waymarks direct you right onto a footpath. The path, still not too steep, then brings you to a large boulder, where there is the next junction, this time a signposted one. Continue straight on (right for Krvavec) along the path, which gradually begins to climb more steeply and higher up brings you beneath an extensive rockfall that is visible even from the Kokra valley. The path veers slightly left away from the rockfall and then, a little higher up, turns right and comes right up to the rock cliffs on your right. The path ahead climbs moderately into a short belt of dwarf pine, beyond which you reach the Lojtra. The Lojtra is a slightly exposed passage along a wide, well-secured ledge. Once past this section, there is just a short traverse across the slopes (steel cable), after which the slopes become less steep. Continue along the path, which climbs through the dwarf pine. After 15 minutes the dwarf pine ends and the path brings you onto the vast pastures of Dolga Njiva, where you reach a junction. Continue straight on (right for Krvavec), and after a few more steps the path brings you to the old shepherd’s hut on the pasture.

Beyond the bridge you will notice red mountain signposts directing you onto the road that climbs through the hamlet of Podlebelca. Follow the waymarks past the houses; above the hamlet, the asphalt ends. After a short climb through the forest you reach a larger chapel, beyond which you turn left onto a waymarked cart track. The cart track forks immediately; take the right-hand branch, along which the waymarks also continue. A little higher up you reach an asphalt road leading towards the Roblek, Pestotnik and Lovrin farms; walk along it as far as the first right-hand bend. After the bend a footpath continues, climbing quickly to a point where you cross the road leading to the Lovrin farm. Continue through the forest; the path gradually moves onto an indistinct wooded ridge, which it then climbs along and beside. Higher up, cross another asphalt road, this one leading towards the Roblek farm, then climb more steeply for a few more minutes before joining the cart track that leads from the Roblek farm.

Continue straight on along the cart track, which is wide at first, but soon leave it as the waymarks direct you right onto a footpath. The path, still not too steep, then brings you to a large boulder, where there is the next junction, this time a signposted one. Continue straight on (right for Krvavec) along the path, which gradually begins to climb more steeply and higher up brings you beneath an extensive rockfall that is visible even from the Kokra valley. The path veers slightly left away from the rockfall and then, a little higher up, turns right and comes right up to the rock cliffs on your right. The path ahead climbs moderately into a short belt of dwarf pine, beyond which you reach the Lojtra. The Lojtra is a slightly exposed passage along a wide, well-secured ledge. Once past this section, there is just a short traverse across the slopes (steel cable), after which the slopes become less steep. Continue along the path, which climbs through the dwarf pine. After 15 minutes the dwarf pine ends and the path brings you onto the vast pastures of Dolga Njiva, where you reach a junction. Continue straight on (right for Krvavec), and after a few more steps the path brings you to the old shepherd’s hut on the pasture.

At the end of the car park, where the road bends left and a road branches off right towards the nearby Jezerca pasture, you will notice red mountain signposts directing you straight on to a waymarked footpath towards Kriška Planina, Vrh Korena, Košutna, Kompotela and Mokrica, which climbs across the grazing land of Jezerca pasture. After a short climb you reach a cart track; follow it to the left, crossing the slopes of Kržišče (1,658 m). The cart track you are walking on soon forks; continue straight on along the lower branch. For a while there is a fine view towards Kranj, the Škofja Loka Hills and Storžič, and then the path begins to descend gently. A few more minutes’ walking brings you to the car park at the lower part of Kriška Planina.

Here the waymarked path towards Koren pasture continues slightly to the right, but you continue straight on to the other side of the valley, where you begin to climb the grassy slope towards a nearby hamlet. After a short climb you reach the Pr Florjan dairy hut (planšarija), which you pass on its right-hand side. Above the dairy hut, you gradually join a well-trodden but poorly waymarked path that begins to climb more steeply up the grassy slope. Higher up, you reach a rough, partly grassy cart track; follow it uphill to the point where it turns right. From this bend, continue straight on along a somewhat less distinct path, which brings you up to Dom na Krvavcu in a few minutes.

At Dom na Krvavcu, join the gravel road and follow it uphill towards the summit of Krvavec and Zvoh. As you continue to climb, there are fine views of the Storžič group, Kočna and Grintovec, and the route takes you past the transmitter tower and gradually onto the somewhat steeper slopes of the summit of Krvavec. Here the road levels out and traverses the western slopes of the summit, and you soon reach the Razor saddle.

On the saddle, an unmarked path from Koren pasture joins almost imperceptibly from the right (it branches off the waymarked Kriška Planina – Koren pasture path a little before Koren pasture); continue straight on to the nearby red signposts, which stand just before the junction where the waymarked path towards Dolga Njiva pasture branches off slightly to the left.

Continue left towards Dolga Njiva (straight on for Veliki Zvoh) along what is at first still a rough road (later a cart track and then a mountain path), which crosses the ski piste that “comes down” from the summit of Zvoh. Further on, the path brings you onto a slope partly covered with dwarf pine and to a wire fence that marks, or rather protects, the end of the Krvavec ski area.

Cross the fence; the path, which continues to offer views, then brings you to the north- to north-west-facing slopes, across which you begin to descend through a belt of dwarf pine. The path then traverses down across a few small, partly overgrown scree slopes before gradually levelling out, and the path from Kokra (the route over the Lojtra) joins from the left.

Continue straight on and you will soon reach the old shepherd’s hut on Dolga Njiva pasture, and a little higher up the newer one.

While the ski resort is operating, walking is prohibited on the part of the route that crosses the ski piste.

You can extend the hike to the following destinations: Vrh Korena, Kalška Gora, Kalški Greben