Sveti Križ (Planica) - Mariborska koča

Access to starting point:
We leave Štajerska highway at exit Fram and follow the signs for Fram. When we reach the main road Slovenska Bistrica - Maribor, at the traffic light crossroad we continue straight and we drive to the center of Fram. We continue through the settlement, and when we get to the parking lot below the parish church of St. Ana, we continue on the left road so that we bypass the church on the left side. A little further at the cemetery we go right, and then we start ascending steeper. Higher, we get to the settlement Kopivnik, and further we follow the road towards the settlement Planica, where we follow the signs for the church of the Holy Cross, by which we park.

Path description:
On the northeastern side of the church, left from the playground we notice a cart track, on which we start. After few steps, we continue slightly left (right - path on which we descend to an asphalt road, on which we came to the starting point) and then we are few minutes ascending diagonally through the forest. When we leave the forest, we from the slope pass into a smaller valley, and we continue by the left edge of the pasture and next to it we ascend to an asphalt road, where we reach a marked path Fram - Ruška koča na Arehu and we follow it to the left.
We short time continue on the road, and when the road makes a longer right turn we go from the road left on a marked path, which ascends by the power line. Higher, we reach a narrower asphalt road, where we go right, and at the crossroad with the priority road we go left. The path ahead leads us past a smaller hamlet, and then the road returns into the forest, where soon blazes point us to the right on a footpath towards Areh. Through the forest at numerous crossings we follow the blazes, and the path at first leads past a cross, higher also past NOB monument, near of which there is another cross.
Here we also get to an asphalt road which we quickly leave and we continue right into the forest, where at the crossings we follow the blazes, and higher we reach the main asphalt road and we follow it to the left.
On the main road we walk to a crossroad, where a road towards Hotel Zarja branches off to the right.
We continue right on a marked road in the direction of Hotel Zarja (slightly left on a footpath - Areh) and in few minutes of a diagonal ascent we get to the mentioned hotel.
We bypass the hotel on the bottom side, and on the eastern side of the hotel, we go on the path towards Mariborska koča. We continue on a cart track which leads through the forest, and we are ascending diagonally there on the southeastern slopes of the peak Sedovec (1231 meters). Higher, we reach a marked path, which connects Mariborska koča and Ruška koča na Arehu, and we follow a bad road to the right. The road further starts gradually descending and after few minutes we get to a marked crossing, where we go right downwards and we continue on a wider macadam road (left - Pečke, straight - a lookout tower). Few minutes we are descending on the mentioned road, and at the crossroads, we continue straight, and when the road becomes asphalted we go from the road right downwards on a marked path, on which we quickly descend to Mariborska koča.
The starting point - Zarja 1:45, Zarja - Mariborska koča 0:45.
Description and pictures refer to a condition in March 2022.

On the way: Planinski dom Zarja (Hotel Zarja) (1113m)