Cerkno - Ermanovec (via Planina pri Cerknem)

Access to starting point:
From the road Idrija - Tolmin (possible also through the mountain pass Kladje, Davča, Leskovica...) we drive to Cerkno, where we park on one of the parking lots in the center, or periphery of the town (best near the church of St. Ana).

Path description:
From the church of St. Ana in Cerkno, past the snack bar Okrepčevalnica pr'Jušku and store Merkur we walk to the street Pot v Strano, where there is the beginning of a marked path which leads towards Planina pri Cerknem, Škofje and Ermanovec. We go on the mentioned street upwards, and after few meters we continue on the right road which starts ascending steeper. The road at the last house ends, and we continue on a cart track which is diagonally ascending. Blazes then lead left, and the path brings us on a panoramic grassy slope, from which a nice view opens up on Cerkno and surrounding hills.
We still continue on a cart track, and at the crossings we follow the signs of the mountain path number 5. A moderately steep path is slowly moving away from Cerkno, and with nice views on surroundings it quickly brings us to an asphalt road which we only cross. We continue the ascent in the same direction, and further we are ascending on a worse cart track, on which in few minutes of additional walking, we get to the village Planina pri Cerknem.
Through the village, in the middle of which stands the church of St. John the Baptist, we walk on a diagonally-ascending cart track which few times crosses an asphalt road, and in doing so, we walk also through some yards. Above the bottom part of the village, we get to a macadam road, on which in few minutes we walk to a smaller crossroad. Here we continue left upwards, where we quickly get to the "last" house in the village.
Above the house, we continue on at first a wide cart track which quickly passes into the forest, and we continue there few minutes. A little higher we leave the cart track and we continue left on a marked and wide mountain path which starts ascending steeper. A little higher we get to a macadam road, where the path branches off to the left towards hospital Franja, and we continue straight and after a short steep ascent we step on an asphalt road, on which we walk to the next marked crossing.
At the crossing, we continue right towards Ermanovec (left - Škofje), where we quickly get to the next marked crossing, where we continue straight across the asphalt road on a footpath in the direction towards Ermanovec (left - Jeram (stamp ICPP), right - mountain pass Kladje). We for some time continue the ascent by the edge of a panoramic ridge, from which a nice view opens up on Škofje, and then the path passes on a slope and a little further also in the forest. Through the forest, we are moderately ascending on a cart track, and higher we reach an asphalt road which leads from the mountain pass Kladje towards Ermanovec.
For a short time, we walk on the asphalt road, and then at the smaller hamlet we continue slightly left on the road in the direction of the footpath on Ermanovec. On the macadam road in few 10 strides we ascend on a panoramic ridge and there signs for Ermanovec point us slightly to the right on a cart track, on which we quickly ascend to the forest. We continue through the forest, where at the crossings we follow the blazes, and the path brings us to fortresses of former Rapallo border, where the path flattens. A little further, we step out of the forest and then in a gentle descent, we walk to an asphalt road which we left a while back, and we reach it through the yard of the nearby house.
When we step on the road, we continue in the direction of Ermanovec, and the path at first leads past the information board (Rapallo border trail), and a little further also past an old chapel, behind which from the left joins also a marked path from Kopačnica.
We continue straight, and then in few minutes we get to the mountain hut Koča na Ermanovcu.
From the mountain hut, we continue straight (left Štor 5 minutes), and at the first crossroad, where the path branches off to the right towards the farm Žunar, again straight. On the road, we walk for few minutes, and then from the crossroad at the chapel and a bell we continue slightly right on a cart track in the direction of the summit of Ermanovec (straight on the road Hotavlje and Slajka, right also on the road Sovodenj), on which start gently ascending on a panoramic ridge. When the cart track turns a little to the right, we continue slightly left, on a footpath which ascends through a little steeper grassy slope straight towards the summit. A little below the summit, the path flattens and brings us into the forest, where there is the peak of Ermanovec.

On the way: Planina pri Cerknem (564m), Koča na Ermanovcu (964m)

Trip can be extended to: Koča na Ermanovcu , Štor