Šembije - Sveti Martin (Šilentabor) (via Brkinški rob)

Access to starting point:
A) From a highway Ljubljana - Koper we go to the exit Postojna and follow the road ahead in the direction of Pivka, Reka and Ilirska Bistrica. In the settlement Pivka we leave the main road which runs towards Ilirska Bistrica and we continue driving towards Knežak. Only a little after Knežak, we get to the village Šembije, where in the middle of the village we turn right towards the nearby church. A little further from the church, the village ends, and we continue driving on the macadam road, on which we gently ascend to a smaller crossroad near the old bunkers. We park nearby on an appropriate place by the road.
B) We drive to Ilirska Bistrica, and then we continue driving towards Knežak. Before we get to Šembije, we leave the main road and we continue left towards the village Podtabor. At the beginning of Podtabor we get to a crossroad of multiple roads, and we choose the most right road (far right yard of the nearby house) and for a short time, we steeply ascend there. When the road flattens, we will on the left side notice old bunkers, and on the right a small concrete cross, and few meters ahead there is a smaller crossroad. We park somewhere nearby on an appropriate place by the road.

Path description:
From the starting point, we go on a side macadam road which starts gently ascending towards the northwest, and it quickly changes into a wide cart track. Already after few 10 meters, cart track splits into two parts, and we choose the left one, which quickly brings us above the upper edge of precipitous cliffs. From the edge a nice view opens up on village Podtabor, which is almost vertically below us and in distance towards Brkini. During the further ascent we can by the path notice even some old and faded blaze, which is rather a rarity than a rule. A little higher, the path leads us through some rare lanes of bushes, and then it gradually passes on ample grassy slopes. Here the path turns a little to the right and it brings us to a smaller saddle (saddle between the peaks Bezgovica 738 meters and Vrh 777 meters).
On the saddle, we cross a grazing fence and behind it we start gently descending. Cart track quickly flattens, we walk there only a short time, and then on the left side we notice several smaller footpaths, which are diagonally ascending on a gentle grassy slope. We continue on one of the footpaths, and in doing so, we have to be careful, that we stick to the most left paths, so those, which run as close as possible to Brkinški rob. Higher, we cross a short lane of a forest, and the path which gradually passes on a distinct ridge, with increasingly beautiful views quickly brings us on less known, but relatively panoramic peak of Gradišče.
From the top, we continue on a path, which goes into the forest, through which it starts gently descending. The path ahead occasionally still runs by Brkinški rob, and then gradually passes into quite overgrown part, where mainly in the summer months the passage is difficult because of thorns. A little further, the path turns a little to the right and joins a wider cart track which then in a gentle descent leads on panoramic slopes. We continue by the edge of pastures, and with a view on Snežnik and basin Zgornj Pivška kotlina it brings us to a crossing on the saddle Klanec.
Here, the path branches off to the left downwards towards the nearby cross, Narin and Ratečevo Brdo, and we go straight (right downwards Zagorje) and we still continue on a relatively gentle and panoramic cart track. When the cart track after approximately 15 minutes of additional walking gets very close to the nearby asphalt road, at the crossroad we continue left on the macadam road, on which we ascend to already from the far visible church of St. Martin.

On the way: Gradišče (Čepan) (791m), Klanec (706m)

Trip can be extended to: Šilentabor ( 5 min)