GORIŠKA BRDA E1: Šmartno – Plave

At the parking area near the village of Šmartno, we will turn north and follow the signpost for the village of Imenje. We descend on asphalt for a few hundred meters to the village. The road will lead us through the village and steeply up to the right, where the asphalt changes to a gravel surface. Initially steeper, then increasingly gentle, after 500 meters on the right we will see the lookout tower, continue right past it and after 100 m turn sharply right toward the tower. After enjoying views that stretch across the entire Brda, to the Julian Alps, the Dolomites, and the sea, we will return to the last turnoff toward the tower and continue a few more meters to the main road. We will immediately reach a roundabout, leaving it in the direction of Plave. We follow the main road for only 800 m, where we turn right onto a side road toward Sabotin. After a short climb comes a descent, and after a few hundred meters we reach a Y-intersection. The right road leads to Sabotin but we go left, in the direction marked with a sign "hunting lodge." After two hundred meters on gravel, pay attention to an unmarked forest track turning left. Once on that track, there is no more orientation difficulty. The forest track initially descends through pastures into a widened valley, then on the other side rises into the forest, then turns onto the northeastern slopes of the Sabotin ridge. The forest track ends below by the Soča on the cycle path, where we turn left and continue straight into the village of Plave. The train station awaits us at the end of the village on the left side of the road. The access is marked.