Pod Peco / Koprein-Petzen - Čofatijev vrh (via Šoparjev vrh)

Access to starting point:
A) Over the border crossing Jezerski vrh or Pavličev vrh we drive to Bela / Bad Vellach, and from there we continue driving towards Železna Kapla / Bad Eisenkappel. At the beginning of Železna Kapla we notice signs for Lepena / Leppen, which point us to the right. Further, we drive on a little narrower asphalt road which leads us at first by the bottom of the valley, and then at the hamlet Koprivna / Koprein - Sonnseite it starts ascending steeper. Higher, we get to a hamlet Pod Peco / Koprein - Petzen, where there is the starting point of the path on Topica / Topitza and inn Riepl. Here we continue straight on at first still asphalt road which further leads past the church of all religions. A little above the church asphalt ends, and the road starts descending. After a short descent, we get to a smaller crossroad, where we continue right in the direction of Peca and St. Ana (ahead on the main road Globasnica / Globasnitz). From the crossroad, we drive only for a short time, and then we get to a gate near of which we park on an appropriate place.
B) From Dravograd or Slovenj Gradec we drive to Ravne na Koroškem, and then we continue driving in the direction of border crossing Holmec. When we drive into Austria we at first drive towards Pliberk / Bleiburg, and then we follow the signs for Globasnica / Globasnitz. After approximately 13 km from the border crossing Holmec we get to Globasnica, from there we continue driving left towards the upper part of the settlement. From Globasnica we continue on a narrower and ascending road in the direction of hamlet Pod Peco / Koprein - Petzen. Further, we are for quite some time ascending by Globaška grapa, and then the road brings us on an indistinct saddle, where we get to a smaller crossroad. Here, where we notice signs for Peca we continue left on a side road, on which we quickly descend to the near gate near of which we park on an appropriate place.

Path description:
From the parking lot, we continue past a gate and on the road in few minutes we descend to a crossroad at the edge of the mountain pasture Spodnja Luža.
Here marked Austrian path branches off to the left on Peca or on Bistriška špica, and we continue straight in the direction of the mountain hut on farm Kumer. The path ahead leads us through an ample mountain pasture, and then passes to the edge of the forest and splits into two parts. We choose the bottom worse road, on which by the edge of the forest we descend to the national border which we also cross. After few meters of walking on the Slovenian side we join a wider macadam road, and there we continue the descent. A little lower marked cart track branches off to the right towards St. Ana, and we are still descending. When we descend already for 100 altitude meters, we get to a little bigger and marked crossroad, where a road branches off to the right towards Kumer, straight the road continues towards Koprivna and Črna na Koroškem, and we continue sharply left on an ascending road (by the crossroad there are also first Slovenian signs for Peca).
From the crossroad, we continue on the road in the direction of Šopar, Ledrovec, Topla and the marked path on Peca. The road, on which we continue quickly splits, and we choose a slightly left road (right Šopar and Debelak), from which after approximately 10 minutes marked footpath branches off to the left on Peca.
We still continue on the macadam road which past the chapel comes out of the forest, where with nice views, we reach homestead Ledrovec. Above the homestead road makes few hairpin turns, and then it returns into the forest. When we return into the forest, the road gradually flattens, after that for some time in a gentle ascent crosses slopes towards the left.
When the road starts lightly descending, we reach the saddle between the valleys Koprivna and Topla, and by the snow gauge we continue right on a cart track. Cart track quickly passes into a dense forest and then we follow unmarked path to the nearby Šoparjev vrh, from which a nice view opens up towards Peca and Topla.
From Šoparjev vrh, where there is a larger clearing and to where lead few wider cart tracks, we continue towards the south to southeast, where we at first walk on a cart track by the edge of the forest, and the cart track quickly passes into the forest. Through the forest the path continues mostly on a forested ridge and the direction most of the time remains the same. At first the path is quite gentle, occasionally it even descends a little, and in the second part, the path starts at first lightly, and in the last part a little steeper ascending. At few crossings we follow the ridge path, on which we then get to a panoramic, but still a little vegetated Čofatijev vrh.
The starting point - Planina Luža 5 minutes, Planina Luža - Koprivna 20 minutes, Koprivna - Šoparjev vrh 1:10, Šoparjev vrh - Čofatijev vrh 35 minutes.

On the way: Planina Luža (1250m), Ledrovec (1305m), Preval (1413m), Šoparjev vrh (1524m)