Vrh nad Skrbino Trail – Hiking the Alps

Reaching the starting point

To reach Planina Kuk you will need a car as there are no public transport routes in this area. If you are coming from the north (western Austria or northeastern Italy) you should drive along the Austrian A2 expressway or the Italian A23 highway towards Tarvisio. Take the Tarvisio exit and continue on the local road towards Tolmin. On the way you will go through the towns Cave del Predil, Bovec and Kobarid. Then drive through Tolmin and at the end of the town (there is a directions sign) turn left towards Poljubinj and Ljubinj. In Ljubinj turn left towards Planina Kuk and after driving for several minutes on a narrow and steep road (which eventually turns into a wide dirt track) you will reach a parking place where you can park your car free of charge. The road also ends here. If you have a GPS device, the coordinates 46.212921, 13.785179 will lead you directly to the parking place.

If you are arriving from the east (Italy) you should first drive to Udine and then continue towards Tolmin through towns Cividale del Friuli, Pulfero and Kobarid. From Tolmin continue as described above.

You can also reach Planina Kuk from the east. Drive along the Slovenian E61 highway until you reach the Logatec exit. Take the Logatec exit and continue on the local road to Tolmin (approximately 75 kilometers). In Tolmin turn right towards Ljubinj and continue as described above.

Trail

Navigating the trail is not very difficult as it is well-marked with direction signs and painted red and white circles on trees, rocks etc.  From the parking place start walking on the wide dirt track towards north and after a couple hundred meters you will arrive to a big farm. Continue past the farm and soon the track will start ascending gently. Stay on this wide dirt track for 3.4 kilometers until you reach a directions sign. Here you should go right on a narrow path in the direction of Koca na Planini Razor (mountain hut). After walking for a few hundred meters you will reach the mountain hut which offers drinks, cooked meals and accommodation. Here you can also refill your water bottles or hydration bladder for free as the tap water is drinkable.

From the mountain hut continue on a narrow path towards north and after hiking for several hundred meters you will arrive to a crossroad. There is a direction sign at the crossroad and you should go straight ahead in the direction of Vrh nad Skrbino (to the right is Vogel). The path ascends rapidly towards the southern slopes of the ridge beneath the peak. Then the path changes its direction towards west and remains flat for 500 meters or so. After that you will arrive to another crossroad where you should go right in the direction of Vrh nad Skrbino (to the left Skrbina). The path starts ascending rapidly in the direction of north-west towards the peak. From here on you have approximately 1.3 kilometers of hiking left to the top (elevation gain of 500 meters).

On the top you will be rewarded with a great view on the surrounding peaks and the valleys beneath. You will also clearly see the Bohinj lake which is located north of the peak and very popular among tourists for swimming and hanging out.

Getting back to the starting point

As the temperatures were very high in the afternoon, I used the same path down as for the climb.

Woolly Merino T-shirt

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