Starting point: The parking lot along the Hubelj River, right past the ruins of the Roman fortress Castra.
The trail begins in the parking lot in the center of Ajdovščina, next to the famous ruins of the Roman fortress Castra. Continue east along the footpath across the bridge over the Hubelj River until the first intersection, which you will take left towards the source of the Hubelj. A short climb awaits you for a nice warm-up, ending at the source of this icy river, so cold it prompted the Romans to name it Frigidus. The trail lowers from there into the village of Lokavec, where you will begin climbing steeply towards Predmeja; over 8 kilometers you will climb 700 meters in altitude. The path does flatten out a bit along the way on the new part, but then starts to climb steeply again at the water trough, where you can fill your bottles with fresh water. Just before the summer you will arrive at Čaven’s steep, rocky slopes. The road will get much narrower and you will ride through tunnels that were carved from the rock by hand. Predmeja is not far now, and when you get there follow signs to the right towards Col. A few twists and turns now is all that separates you from the scenic overlook at the monument to the Mother of the Gora Plateau, where you will feast your eyes on the upper Vipava Valley and the Nanos Plateau in the distance. The road continues from here, winding from village to village along the Gora Plateau. You can tread off the beaten path when you get to Kovk, going the extra distance to Sinji vrh, where you will be handsomely rewarded with a view of the whole Vipava Valley, the Karst Plateau, and the Adriatic Sea. If you look along the trail from Kovk to the village of Gozd, you will see the limestone pavement (“škraplje” in Slovenian), a phenomenon that occurs when there is running water along a limestone surface, forming elongated grooves. The limestone pavement is a natural monument of national importance. After enjoying the unusual land formation you will begin the descent towards Col, from where you will descend for another 8 km into Ajdovščina.
Info
Difficulty: hard
Length: 36,2 km
Duration: 3 h
Ascent: 1067 m
Descent: 1067 m
Lowest point asl.: 106 m
Highest point asl.: 903 m