Stoperce - Donačka gora (harder path)

Access to starting point:
A) We drive to Rogaška Slatina, and then we continue driving towards Rogatec. In Rogatec, at the roundabout we turn left in the direction of Ptuj, and then we drive on the main road to the Brzika pass, where the road starts descending. Lower down, we arrive in Stoperce, where we park on the parking lot next to the Krajevni dom.
B) We drive to Majšperk, and then we follow the signs for Stoperce and Rogatec. When we arrive in Stoperce, we park next to the Dom krajanov Stoperce.

Path description:
From Dom krajanov Stoperce we walk for a short time along the main road towards Rogatec, and still before the end of the settlement, we turn left onto a side road in the direction of Donačka gora. The marked path further leads us along an asphalt road, which from Stoperce brings us to Kupčinji Vrh, where at a few crossroads we continue straight or follow the blazes. Higher up, the road ascends somewhat more steeply and brings us to a hamlet, beside which there is a marked parking lot.
Here we continue straight onto a side road (left - Žetale), beside which there are signs for Donačka gora. The path ahead leads past a few houses, a trough with water, then we go right to the nearby stream, along which we continue for a short time. The path ahead leads through the forest and ascends transversely; when we approach the meadow, we go left along the lower path. There follows some more ascent, then we cross a macadam road, after which we ascend to Rudijev dom in a minute of further walking.
From Rudijev dom we continue left in the direction of the summit of Donačka gora (right - Sv. Jurij, Rogatec and source of Sotla) and initially walk along a macadam road. From the road, an easier path to Donačka gora first branches off to the right; we continue along the road to the left serpentine, where we leave the road and continue straight on the path, then walk along a cart track that crosses the northern slopes of Donačka gora. There follows a shorter transverse ascent and we climb to an indistinct saddle beside Joški vrh, where we continue straight (left - Joški vrh), then there follow a few shorter descents and ascents along the northern slope of Donačka gora. Before the cart track descends to the nearby turning point of the forest road, we go slightly right in the direction of the harder path to Donačka gora.
There follows some steeper ascent and we arrive at the next junction, where we go right in the direction of Donačka gora (left - Kupčinji Vrh, straight - Vrhe pass and Žetale), and at the next junction we go right again.
We continue again in the direction of Donačka gora, and the path gradually transitions onto steep slopes that are especially slippery when wet, across which we mostly ascend transversely. Further on, we arrive at a shorter technically demanding section, where a steel cable assists us on the steep ascent along the rocky slope. When the steep demanding ascent ends, we reach the main ridge of Donačka gora, where the path forks.
We continue left (right - main summit) and quickly arrive at the precipitous eastern summit of Donačka gora.
From the eastern summit we return to the last junction, then continue along the marked path, which runs somewhat to the left of the ridge. There follow a few shorter ascents and descents along the path, which occasionally leads along quite a steep slope, where there is especially greater risk of slipping when wet. Such a path brings us, after approximately 20 minutes from the eastern summit, to the one-meter-higher western summit of Donačka gora.
Stoperce - Rudijev dom 1:20, Rudijev dom - eastern summit of Donačka gora 1:15, eastern summit of Donačka gora - western summit of Donačka gora 0:20.
Description and pictures refer to the condition in April 2022.

On the way: Kupčinji Vrh (405m), Rudijev dom na Donački gori (590m), Donačka gora (eastern peak) (883m)