September 5 – 7, 2025.
This year, our hiking section "Runolist" hiked the Košuta ridge, the longest mountain ridge in Slovenia (about 10 km) in the Karavanke mountain range.
The ridge is also the border between Slovenia and Austria. There are 6 peaks over 2,000 meters above sea level on the Košuta ridge. Our goal was Veliki Vrh (2088 meters above sea level), which is the westernmost part of the ridge, Malo Kladivo (2036 meters above sea level) and Veliko Kladivo (2094 meters above sea level). From the top, there is a beautiful view of the Karavanke, the Julian Alps, the High and Low Tauern in Austria.
We left Banja Luka early and after four hours we arrived at the starting point, the parking lot in Podljubelj. In a good mood, we loaded our backpacks and slowly set off uphill. Before us was no easy task to overcome about 800 m height difference to Koča na Kofcah. Great weather for walking, we were in no hurry because the backpacks were heavy. After two and a half hours, we arrived at the lodge, which is located in a wonderful place at the foot of Kofca Gora and Veliki Vrh. We forgot about our tiredness when we saw the beautiful ridge of Košuta behind the lodge, our gaze passed to the magical Kamniško-Savinja Alps in the distance and the high rocky Storžič. On the terrace, we quenched our thirst with some cold beer and enjoyed the view of the fairy-tale nature. We could not enter the rooms until 6 pm and after short refreshment we decided to explore the surroundings. That was in the plan, but the weather and the beauty of nature tempted us to go to the top. Refreshed and eager to walk, we climbed to Veliki Vrh. That was just a treat. From the top there was a view of Austria, in the distance you could see Zelov and the top of the ridge in all its beauty. We were proud and happy that we overcame 1,400 m of height difference in one day and enjoyed the unreal beauty of nature. Full of impressions, we returned to the lodge, passed a herd of mountain cows and horses. A true peaceful setting.
The home is perfect, from accommodation, clean bedding, good food and really friendly staff. Tired but satisfied, we went to sleep. The agreement was that we get up early and have breakfast at 7 and head to the ridge. After a hearty breakfast, we left for Kofce mountain. Again it was necessary to climb from 1448 m.a.s.l. to 1907 m.a.s.l. The ascent was quite steep and demanding. But once we got up there, the ridge was much easier. The weather was in our favor, it was a bit cloudy, but without wind, ideal. We enjoyed every moment and did not rush, because there were traces of fatigue from yesterday's climbing. The state border of Slovenia and Austria is marked all along the way, so we are sometimes in Slovenia, sometimes in Austria. Little by little and cautiously we climbed up the rocks and came out on Veliko Kladivo. We signed in the book of people who have climbed to the top, took pictures, tried to figure out what we see in the surroundings. There was no more climbing, the task accomplished and we were heading downhill. After an hour and a half, we reached the lodge on Šija along a steep path. There we rested and hydrated ourselves with beer.
In half an hour we were in our lodge. And as one of our hikers said, the best part of hiking came, and that was lunch. The offer was diverse, it was difficult to decide. Someone ordered jota soup, mushroom soup, pickled greens, Carniola sausages, but everyone decided to try cheese dumplings. No one made a mistake in their choice, the food was excellent. In the evening we chatted and made plans for the week. The choice fell to visit the Arboretum - Volčji potok and we were not mistaken, we enjoyed a few hours walking through nature admiring flowers, cacti and butterflies. And in the end, Olga invited us to stop by for coffee at her uncle's in Šentjernej Stara vas. Of course it wasn't just coffee, they feasted on cviček and several types of cakes, grapes and figs. We were impressed by their church and its interesting history that uncle Stane told us abou. We really enjoyed this unplanned pleasure. We said goodbye to Olga's relatives and headed home. What can I say, it was a great trip!
Ljiljana Memon
