Otočec - Sveta Marija (Trška Gora)

Access to starting point:
A) From highway Ljubljana - Obrežje we go to the exit Novo mesto - east, and then we continue driving in the direction of Otočec. Further, we drive on the old road towards Brežice, and then we quickly get to a crossroad, where we continue right in the direction of the settlement Lešnica. After Lešnica we get to Otočec, and we drive to the other side of the settlement, where we park on a parking lot by the cemetery.
B) From highway Obrežje - Ljubljana we go to the exit Kronovo (exit number 28), and then we continue driving in the direction of the castle Otočec. Also from the nearby roundabout we continue to the exit castle Otočec. Further, we drive on the old road towards Novo mesto, and after Petrol gas station we turn right in an already known direction. Next follow two successive crossroads, where we go twice left, and after the underpass we go right in the direction of Otočec (left - castle Otočec). Next follows approximately 1 km of driving, and then we get to Otočec, where we park on a parking lot by the cemetery.

Path description:
From the starting point, we continue past the church and we for some time continue by the road in the direction of Novo mesto. We soon get to the chapel, where a road branches off to the left towards Ratež and Gumberk, and then at the next few 10 steps distant crossroad we continue right past NOB monument. We continue through the underpass, and then on the other side of the underpass we continue left (right - Paha and Herinja vas). At the next crossroad, we continue right, and then we walk past the confectionery Slaščičarstvo Hočevar and past the primary school Otočec and along the fields we get to the end of Otočec and few steps further to an unmarked crossroad.
From the mentioned crossroad, we continue left (straight through the underpass below the highway there is castle Stari grad above Otočec and Trška Gora past the castle Stari grad) and on a sidewalk we descend to the nearby crossroad, where we continue right in the direction of Črešnjice and Jelše pri Otočcu. After the crossroad, the road leads us through the underpass below the highway, and then we walk by the meadows and fields. We quickly get to the settlement Jelše pri Otočcu, where the road starts gently to moderately ascending. When the mentioned settlement ends we quickly get to Črešnjice, where at the marked crossroad we continue left in the direction of Trška Gora. Further, we are for some time ascending steeper, and part of the path, we walk also on the path Slakova pot. A little higher, at the part where the road flattens, the path branches off to the right towards the vineyard cottage Teropšič, in the same direction continues also the path Slakova pot, and we continue slightly left on a little wider road (if we want to ascend to the church of Holy Mary on Trška Gora we continue right, in this case, we join the path which leads from the castle Stari grad). Next follows a panoramic walk among vineyards, where with a view on Gorjanci and valley of river Krka, we get to the beginning of the settlement Trška Gora, where we continue right on the main road. At the beginning of the settlement, the road is still ascending, and then follows a short descent, from where a nice view opens up on vineyards and the church of Holy Mary.
At the crossroad after Krkin hram we continue straight, and then a little ahead joins also a marked path from Novo mesto.
We continue straight, and then a nice view opens up on Novo mesto, Mirna gora and Gače. The path ahead leads us on an increasingly steep road which higher changes into a macadam road, and then we quickly get to the church of Holy Mary on Trška Gora.
Description and pictures refer to a condition in the year 2016 (June).