Saint Mary above Vitovlje

Sveta Marija nad Vitovljami is an anti-Turkish camp offering exceptional views. A circular trail leads to it, passing partly through the villages. It is also a nature trail equipped with informational signs. You can see the hills at the edge of the Trnovski Forest and the slopes below it, Nanos, the Karst, Vremščica, Čičarija, Istria with Učka, the Gulf of Trieste, and Friuli with its coastal plain. The Vipava Valley lies spread out before you. To the east, you can also see the Javornik Mountains and the hills around Snežnik. According to Marko Pogačnik, the so-called Dragon Lines—energy currents of positive energy from the beyond—are said to intersect at the church. Especially if we drive a bit higher, the route is also suitable for a family outing. Sveta Marija nad Vitovljami lies in the Vipava Valley subregion and the Mediterranean region.

Starting point: We drive along the Ljubljana–Koper highway. Exit at the Razdrto exit and continue on the Primorska Expressway toward Nova Gorica. Exit at the Selo exit. Immediately after the exit, turn left toward Vitovlje. Drive past the village of Črniče and the exit for the village of Osek. In Vitovlje, at the second intersection, turn right toward the Maloščevo tourist farm and the Church of St. Lucy. After about 50 meters, park on the left in the gravel parking lot.

Ascent: Vitovska Sveta Marija, with the hills in the background, is already visible at the starting point of the nature hike. The described route to it is partially a loop trail. From where we parked, do not turn right onto the paved path as the signs indicate, but continue straight ahead, or rather, follow the paved road on the left. Stay on this road without turning anywhere until, after about 30 minutes of walking, you reach the village of Vitovlje. Just before the houses, the road turns left and then, in a right-hand bend, leads us into the center of the village. We reach an intersection where a hiking sign, accompanied by informational signs, directs us to the left. This is where the nature trail begins. At this point, the circular route will come full circle on the return trip. A narrow paved road quickly takes us above the houses. Keep to the right. The paved road ends shortly after a water intake. Continue along the forest road. Follow it, and you’ll soon reach the parking lot below the church, which is still a 25-minute walk away. If you’d like to skip the walk along the paved road, park here. This spot is particularly well-suited as a starting point for a family outing. After about a 20-minute walk, you’ll reach a fork where the path to the left leads to Kopitnik, Čaven, Krnica, and the Church of St. Lucy. Continue straight ahead. After just a few dozen meters, you’ll reach another fork where the path to the left leads toward Krnica, and again after about 10 meters, just below the ramp in front of the church, the path to the left leads to Lake Vitovsko. Continue straight past the ramp, and after a few minutes, you’ll arrive in front of the church.

Descent: We can return via the same path we came on, or we can spice up our family outing with a loop trail past Lake Vitovsko, which also occasionally offers a view of Sveta Marija with the hills in the background.
If we choose the second option, we retrace our steps for a few dozen meters back to the first fork. At the fork, we turn right onto a forest trail leading toward Lake Vitovsko and Užice. After a short descent, the trail levels out, and after a few minutes we reach a fork by a small chapel. The path to the left leads uphill toward Sveta Lucija. We continue straight ahead. Beyond the chapel, the trail begins to descend again. After about a minute, we reach a fork. Straight ahead is Užice; to the right is Lake Vitovsko. We continue toward the lake. The trail is now narrower, well-trodden, and descends gently down the slope. After a few minutes, a slightly wider path joins ours from the left. Soon we reach a fork, where we turn left toward the lake. After just a few minutes, Lake Vitovsko lies ahead of us. We walk past it and continue along the forest trail to the right. Soon we reach a wider path, where we continue to the right. After walking about 10 meters, we reach the path from which we turned toward the lake. We continue straight ahead. We walk along a wide forest road that descends gently. We follow it all the way to the paved road, where we turn right toward Vitovlje. After about 10 minutes, we reach the intersection where we originally turned left; now we’ve joined from the right, thus completing the loop and the nature trail. We continue the family outing left along the original paved road all the way back to the starting point.