Ljubelj - Srednja peč (lower path)

Access to starting point:
We drive to the border crossing Ljubelj, where before the tunnel we turn left towards Zelenica. Then we drive across a small bridge, and then we park on a large parking lot.

Path description:
At the beginning of the parking lot signpost for Stol, Vrtača and Dom na Zelenici point us on a wide cart track which starts ascending by the torrent. When a little higher the cart track turns left, we continue straight on the mountain path which continues through the forest and soon returns on a cart track. Cart track a little higher turns right and brings us out of the forest on a ski track of the former ski slope Zelenica. Next follows a short steeper ascent on a ski slope, and then the path flattens and leads us by the foot of the scree below Begunjščica.
From the marked path soon the path which runs on a transport road branches off to the right, and we continue on "road" to the nearby hut Koča Vrtača.
At the mountain hut, the road turns right, and we continue straight in the direction of the mountain path on Zelenica. A short time we continue below the former one-seater chairlift Zelenica II, and then the path starts ascending steeper on a slope, which is partly overgrown by dwarf pines. After few hairpin turns, we return on a transport road, on which we continue with a view towards the gully Šentanski plaz.
The path ahead leads us on slopes of Spodnji Plot (the peak, on which years ago they made a sport climbing path), after that from the road we turn right on a footpath which cuts a longer turn. When we return on the road we are already at the upper station of the former one-seater chairlift Zelenica II, and to the mountain hut Dom na Zelenici separates us only few steps of descent.
We bypass the mountain hut Dom na Zelenici on the right side, and behind the mountain hut we go left and we start ascending by the ski track. After few 10 strides of an ascent, the path on Vrtača branches off to the right and the upper path on Stol, and we continue slightly left in the direction of the cottage Dom pri izviru Završnice. A short ascent follows, and then on a cart track we start descending. After a short descent, we reach the ending of the other now already former ski track, and then we are lightly descending on a wide path, which mostly leads through pastures. With nice views on Begunjščica on the left and Vrtača on the right, we then get to the source of Završnica. After the source, the path for few 10 strides descends steeper, and then turns right and with a view on Lake Bled brings us to the mountain hut Dom pri izviru Završnice.
We continue in the direction of Stol, at first on a cart track, and when the cart track turns a little to the right, and we continue straight on a marked path which starts ascending steeper. The path ahead passes into a small valley between Srednji vrh on the left and Vrtača on the right, and on the mentioned small valley we are ascending all the way to a saddle Šija, where there is a marked crossing.
We continue slightly left in the direction of the lower path on Stol (left - Srednji vrh, right Vrtača and the upper path on Stol). The path ahead is at first slightly descending on slopes of Srednji vrh, and then turns right and descends steeper past a well and destroyed concrete structure. After that we cross a torrent, and then the path without large changes in altitude continues on slopes of Vrtača. When we get to a small valley V Kožnah, on the very beginning of the small valley from the left joins the path through Zagon, and we continue straight, on the path which starts ascending again. A little further, among mighty boulders, we join the upper path on Stol. Next follows a little steeper ascent with nice views on surroundings and on a wall of Srednja peč on the left. And when higher, the marked path flattens, still before the marked crossing, where the path branches off to the right towards Celovška koča / Klagenfurter Hütte, at the smaller cairn which is situated by the edge of dwarf pines, we continue left on pathless terrain.
We continue by the edge of dwarf pines, on easy passable pathless terrain, by which individual cairns showing the right direction. After approximately 5 minutes, we get to a small saddle west from Srednja peč, where on the left, on the scree we notice a worse footpath. We ascend to the mentioned footpath, and then we cross the scree towards the right. When the scree ends, the footpath leads through a narrow lane of dwarf pines, and then a worse footpath turns left along the dwarf pines steeply upwards and after few steps, it ends in relatively steep grass. We continue the ascent by dwarf pines steeply upwards, and in approximately the same direction we continue all the way until we get on a ridge, where a worse footpath appears again. We continue right, a little further also through a short lane of cutted dwarf pines, and then on and by the ridge which is on the left side occasionally also precipitous, we ascend on a little visited and panoramic peak.
Ljubelj - Koča Vrtača 40 minutes, Koča Vrtača - Dom na Zelenici 40 minutes, Dom na Zelenici - Dom pri izviru Završnice 20 minutes, Dom pri izviru Završnice - Šija 40 minutes, Šija - turn-off from the marked path 1:20, turn-off from the marked path - Srednja peč 25 minutes.

On the way: Koča Vrtača mountain hut (1288m), Dom na Zelenici mountain hut (1536m), Dom pri izviru Završnice (1425m), Šija (1693m)