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Short and
beautiful trail without asphalt
Sometimes you want a shorter
and easier ride. Especially if it still has the elements
of a real MTB trail, including nice DH. A mountain or
better a hill called Slivnica is very much suitable for
such a ride. Slivnica is directlly above Cerknica and
Cerknica lake. It is also very popular among hikers, so
there are numerous pathways, which are mostly suitable for
bikers, too. Country in this part of Slovenia is sparsely
inhabited and people living here are also thrifty with
asphalt. So, this can be a trip to real nature which you
can conclude with swimming in the Cerknica lake in the
summer. Otherwise the trail is suitable for all seasons.
After heavy rain there's mud only in the upper part of
grassy DH.
Starting point
Martinjak is a smaller village
3 km east of Cerknica, along the main motorway Unec -
Rakek - Cerknica - Loz.
Trail description
In order for the ascent to be
just the right duration, we start in the village of
Martinjak, which is right below the top of Slivnica,
viewed from South. At first there is a nice cart track
leading to the main macadam road, which takes you right to
the top. There's plenty of shadow for the hot summer
months. There are also some short steep sections. At the
top of Slivnica or better near the hut you can have
magnificent view over a large part of Notranjska region,
including the beautiful Cerknica lake. But the best part
is still to come. DH from the top is following the west
crest towards Cerknica and is one of the most beautiful in
Slovenia. In the summer you have to be careful about
electric shepherds - wires across the trail. There can be
many of them and bumping in them can be dangerous. In the
lower part of DH grass is replaced by quite rocky terrain,
which can be tricky in some parts. Described trail is not
going directly to Cerknica. It returns to Martinjak right
away on a macadam road, which used to be a nice cart
track. As far as orienting is concerned, the trail is very
easy. You should keep turning left during ascent and keep
riding on the beaten path during descent. And even if you
get lost, when you get down to the plain you won't be far
from the starting point, since the whole area is
relatively small.
Other possibilities
There are almost 1000+ ways to
climb Slivnica by bike. You can start in Martinjak,
Grahovo, Cerknica, etc.
A1) When you are
approaching the top, you can branch off to the cart track
and later continue on a singletrack over the top of
Slivnica and then descent to the hut. (Variant 1 in the
Road Book).
A2) You can choose
rougher and more difficult DH (at no. 13, Variant 2 in the
Road Book).
A3) You can turn to the
northern face and have a nice grass type singletrack (at
no. 15, Variant 3 in the Road Book).
B) The main starting
point for hikers is Cerknica. If you start from here, you
can join the trail between no. 17 and 18 via nice and
partly difficult singletracks.
C1) You can also ascent
on the footpath that goes directly to the top, which is
mostly cyclable, but more appropriate for DH.
C2) Or you can ascent on macadam road from
the north.
D) If you are a
mountain biker that likes to ride on the asphalt as well,
then you can finish the loop along the main motorway
Cerknica - Grahovo, which is nice and panoramic.
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