Komare doline - Veliki Gradež

Access to starting point:
From highway Ljubljana - Koper we go to the exit Črni Kal. From Črni Kal we continue driving on the old road towards the coast, and we are driving there only to the next little bigger crossroad, where we turn left in the direction of border crossing Sočerga. On the mentioned road, we drive past the settlement Kubed to the village Gračišče, where at the crossroad we turn left in the direction of Rakitovec, Movraž and Smokvica. From Gračišče we drive for approximately 800 meters and then by the road we notice the blazes and caption on rock for Lačna, which point us to the left. Here we park on an appropriate place by the road. The starting point is located approximately 50 meters before the next smaller crossroad.
To the starting point, we can also come from the direction of coast, namely through settlements Prade, Pobegi, Čežarji, and Sveti Anton.

Path description:
From the starting point, we go on a marked footpath in the direction of Lačna. The path at first crosses quite overgrown meadow, and then joins a wider cart track, on which we continue. At the crossings, we follow the blazes, and the cart track higher changes into a little steeper and on some spots also overgrown mountain path. Higher some view opens up on surrounding hills, and the path only a little further brings us on the ridge of Lačna, where we also step on a wide cart track.
We follow the cart track to the right (left Lačna 15 minutes), and in few gentle ascents and descents it leads on quite panoramic ridge. A little further, the path leads us past a natural cave, and only a little ahead we come on an indistinct, but panoramic peak Vrh križa.
From Vrh križa we continue on a marked cart track, and it passes into a lane of pine forest, which ends with medium large clearing. In the middle of the clearing, we notice a small rocky cairn, which marks unmarked path on the nearby Krog, and we still continue on a cart track which crosses one more short lane of a forest and then it passes on less vegetated slopes. Here in front of us we already notice gentle northwestern slopes of Kuk, and the path ahead leads in a gentle ascent slightly towards the right. Higher, the path for a short time ascends a little steeper, and then it flattens and it brings us on a wide and gentle upper slope of Kuk, where there is also a marked crossing.
Here we continue straight in the direction of Slavnik and Tri učke (left peak of Kuk 1 minute) and we continue on a wide cart track which is gently descending. The cart track soon entirely flattens and it brings us to the next marked crossing, where we continue left in the direction of Slavnik (straight Tri učke). Ahead we cross a grazing fence and in a moderate ascent on a marked path we ascend below the peak of Veliki Gradež. When the marked path turns to the left, we leave it and we continue right on easier pathless terrain, on which in few steps we get to the top of Veliki Gradež.

On the way: Vrh križa (411m), Kuk (498m)