Grintovec (2,558 m a.s.l.) is the highest peak of the Kamnik-Savinja Alps (Kamniško-Savinjske Alpe), which form part of the Southern Limestone Alps. The mountain is located in Slovenia, near the Austrian border. Grintovec is accessible via many hiking trails of varying difficulty. In the case of the Kamnik-Savinja Alps, the northern slopes are steeper and more demanding. In this post, I will describe a trip to Grintovec precisely from the north – from the border village of Zgornje Jezersko. On the way to the summit, we will also conquer the most demanding ferrata of my life – the Češka koča ferrata (E). You are cordially invited!
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Kamnik-Savinja Alps – how did we end up here?
- Start from Zgornje Jezersko
- Ferrata Češka koča (E)
- The Czech Hut at Spodnje Ravni
- Approach from the hut to Mlinarsko sedlo
- Ridge hike to Grintovec
- Descent from Grintovec
- Trip Map
Kamnik-Savinja Alps – how did we end up here?
Before I move on to the description of the trip to Grintovec, a few words about its context. In August 2024, along with my sister, Martyna, we went on a five-day trip to Slovenia. We spent two days in the Julian Alps. During the first of them, we took a demanding trip to Prisojnik and Razor. On the second day, we summited Triglav, the highest peak in Slovenia.
After conquering Triglav, our goal was to check in at one of the campsites in the Bled area, followed by an evening walk along the shores of the famous lake. The next morning, we intended to drive to the Kamnik-Savinja Alps and climb their highest peak, Grintovec. And here is where the trouble began… It turns out that spontaneity doesn’t always pay off, and the campsites in Bled are not only very expensive but, in August, also fully booked. One of the centers pointed us to a place to stay about 50 km from there, by the highway near Ljubljana…
Okay, so time for plan B. We found a small space free of people in Bled and started intensive Googling. After a while, Martyna managed to call the Grintovec campsite in the village of Kokra (about 50 km from Bled). The location was good as the campsite is practically at the foot of our tomorrow’s goal. Camping Grintovec was also completely full, but the host fortunately agreed to our arrival and promised to provide us with a bit of free space.
After arriving at the place, it turned out that this free space was a small piece of sandy ground, located under a fence, already outside the boundary of the actual campsite. On the plus side – we had a place to sleep; on the minus side – we had to pay over 40 euros for the night… Quite a lot for pitching a tent on sand under a fence, right? I must admit that although there is a general ban on wild camping in Slovenia, that night thoughts of “what if we just pitched our tent in the forest nearby, who would check? and 40 euros would stay in our pockets” appeared in my head exceptionally often.
The next morning, we opened the map and started to get a bit more familiar with where we actually were. It turned out that a forest road leading directly from the campsite would take us to a trail allowing us to reach Grintovec from the southern side. Despite the necessity of overcoming as much as 2,000 meters of elevation difference (the campsite lies at a level of approx. 650 m a.s.l.), this vision seemed quite tempting for a while. We definitively abandoned these plans only after talking to a German couple resting at the campsite. We learned that recently there had been a major rockfall on the southern face of Grintovec, causing the trail leading that way to be partially destroyed. In this situation, we decided to start from the village of Zgornje Jezersko and conquer our goal from the northern side, hitting the difficult Češka koča ferrata along the way.
Start from Zgornje Jezersko
We drove about 11 kilometers from the Grintovec campsite to the border village of Zgornje Jezersko (approx. 900 m a.s.l.). In the center of the village, we easily found a free parking lot, which was the starting and ending point of our loop today. The village is situated in the Jezernica stream valley, on the border of two mountain ranges: the Kamnik-Savinja Alps and the Karawanks. The village made a very positive impression on us: well-maintained buildings as far as the eye can see, beautiful views, and intense greenery.
We left the parking lot in Zgornje Jezersko around 8.30 AM. For the first half kilometer, we walked on the sidewalk along the main road of the village. Our attention was caught by a vending machine at a bus stop… selling local dairy products. So we dropped a few euros into the machine and pulled out sweet yogurts. Local specialties must be tasted! Then we turned right, crossing the bridge over the Jezernica river. For the next two kilometers, we walked along a flat path on the right side of the river. In this way, we reached the small lake Planšarsko jezero. We went around it from the north side and emerged onto a vast, green meadow with a stunning view of the main massif of the Kamnik-Savinja Alps.
After crossing the meadow, we dived back into the forest. After less than three kilometers of walking, we reached… a large parking lot, located at an altitude of approx. 1,000 m a.s.l. At first, I felt we hadn’t quite handled the logistics – after all, leaving the car here would have allowed us to cut 6 km of trekking over almost flat terrain! My spirits only recovered when it turned out to be a paid parking lot. Then I felt like a planning master again – because we left the car far away, but at least for free!
Ferrata Češka koča (E)
Beyond the parking lot, the forest path finally begins to rise steadily. After a kilometer, we come across the lower stations of two cargo cable cars: the first supplies the Czech Hut at Spodnje Ravni, the second – the Kranj Hut at Ledine. From this point, it’s only half a kilometer straight and time to turn right – onto the access path to the Češka koča ferrata. The approach to the iron road is quite well marked. The path now leads through loose, stony terrain, amidst low vegetation and pleasant views.
The Češka koča ferrata starts at an altitude of approx. 1,250 m a.s.l. The difficulty of this route was rated by the Slovenians as “E”, while by the Germans from the bergsteigen.com service – as a “demanding D”. Whatever the case – this is not a ferrata for beginners.
We hit the ferrata at approx. 10.20 AM, which is two hours after leaving the village of Zgornje Jezersko. The road is demanding from the very beginning – at the start, you have to overcome a rock wall rated C/D. Immediately after surmounting it, we reach the most difficult part of the ferrata – a technical climb rated E. Here we stop and watch how a tourist ahead of us tries to cope with the iron road. He struggles mercilessly until finally giving up, carefully descends and chooses a bypass. Not very encouraging, right?
And indeed – the section turns out to be slightly overhanging, practically vertical and incredibly demanding. Martyna, more experienced than me in rock climbing, handles it quite well here. I overcome the section with my heart in my mouth, clutching the iron cable. Directly after passing it, I feel that for a ferrata, it was a bit too much for me. Don’t get me wrong, but iron roads are not exactly climbing. Real protection is not used here, only something that will allow us not to die in case of a fall. So while I would gladly go through this section with a rope, quickdraws and climbing shoes, I wouldn’t return to the ferrata.
After passing section “E”, the iron cables disappear for a moment, and the terrain flattens out. In this way, we approach another rock wall. We are now standing under a large overhang, the difficulty of which has been rated D/E. This time I go first. With a clumsy, purely power-based move, I pull myself up on the iron cable and scramble onto the next rock shelf. Martyna has a bigger problem here – she dislikes the overhang to such an extent that for a moment she thinks about bypassing it along the surrounding rocks. However, when it becomes clear that the surrounding rocks do not guarantee an easier passage at all, she also handles the ill-fated overhang in a very forceful way. The rest of the ferrata is much easier – the ratings here reach the letter C. The climbing is quite pleasant and for the most part does not require touching the iron cable. The limestone guarantees firm holds, and the scorching sun makes the rock very pleasant to the touch.
The Czech Hut at Spodnje Ravni
We finish the Češka koča ferrata at 11.20 AM, which means that crossing it takes us approx. an hour. A few minutes later, we check in at the Czech Hut at Spodnje Ravni (Češka koča na Spodnjih Ravneh, 1542 m a.s.l.), where with great satisfaction we treat ourselves to a cold, non-alcoholic radler. For a moment, we lazily rest on comfortable deckchairs, enjoying the warmth of the scorching sun. The hut owes its name to the Czech branch of the Slovenian Alpine Association from Prague, which initiated its construction in 1900. From the facility, there is a fantastic panoramic view of the highest parts of the Kamnik-Savinja Alps. Of course, you don’t have to go to the hut via the ferrata – from the forest parking lot I mentioned, there is also a regular trail, devoid of any technical difficulties.
Approach from the hut to Mlinarsko sedlo
A moment of breath and we move on! We gain altitude on a scree path that leads in numerous serpentines under the massive wall of Grintovec. At first, the approach is intense but quite comfortable. The path is packed and well visible. As we gain altitude, the terrain around us becomes increasingly raw, and the last patches of grass disappear under the pressure of omnipresent rocks. At an altitude of 1800 m a.s.l., there is a trail fork: straight ahead leads the Frischaufova pot, and to the right branches off the Kremžarjeva pot. Both roads allow for reaching Grintovec – except that the first one is from the east, and the second from the west. The initial version assumed that one of the trails would serve as our ascent and the other as our descent. On the spot, however, it turns out that Kremžarjeva pot is closed to tourists. Ultimately, we ascend Grintovec via the Frischaufova pot road and descend the same way.
The higher we go, the less comfortable the approach becomes. At some point, we are already walking on a marshy “scree-field”, which in places causes considerable navigational problems. In fact, trekking in scree terrain absorbs us to such an extent that we miss the moment when the trail branches off from the stones to the rock wall of Grintovec (roughly at an altitude of 1,950 m a.s.l.). So we enter the rock in the wrong place, but fortunately, we quickly catch up with the worn path again. At a later stage, the trail is an intense ascent with elements of minor climbing. According to the statistics from Strava, on just one kilometer we gained over 400 meters of elevation difference here. The trail is therefore quite taxing, especially in today’s air temperature. In some fragments, the road has been secured with staples and a ferrata. As we gain altitude, we receive an increasingly great panorama of the Karawanks and the valley from which we came here.
Ridge hike to Grintovec
We reach Mlinarsko sedlo (2,334 m a.s.l.) a few minutes after 2.00 PM (which is a bit over two hours after leaving the hut). We now head west – from the pass to the summit of Grintovec we still have a kilometer-long ridge section to cover. If you went east, you could reach Skuta (2,532 m a.s.l.), the third largest peak of the Kamnik-Savinja Alps, in two variants: classically or via the ferrata leading through the summit of Dolgi hrbet (2,473 m a.s.l.).
The road from the pass to Grintovec takes us approx. 30 minutes. It requires overcoming moderately difficult terrain, partially secured with staples and a ferrata. The omnipresent exposure and amazing views in every direction are impressive. On the way to Grintovec, we will pass another peak (initially seeming to be our main goal) – Mali Jezerski Grintovec with an altitude of 2,447 m a.s.l. We check in on Grintovec (2,558 m a.s.l.) at 2.35 PM, so after more than six hours since leaving the hut. The fatigue is strong, but… we did it! Our mountain CV has just been enriched by another beautiful peak, the highest in the Kamnik-Savinja Alps range. By the way, in the height table, Grintovec stands exactly ex aequo with the Tatra Kežmarský štít, on which we had the opportunity to be a month and a half earlier.
As befits the highest peak, there is a wide panoramic view from Grintovec. To the north, we have the Karawanks, the lowest of the three Slovenian ranges that exceed an altitude of 2,000 m a.s.l. To the west is the already mentioned Skuta and dozens of other peaks of the Kamnik-Savinja Alps. To the south, the massif of Kalski Greben (2,224 m a.s.l.) is clearly visible. Behind it is the vast Sava valley, at the bottom of which loom, among others, the buildings of Kranj, the runway of the Ljubljana airport or the ribbon of the A2 highway. Finally, to the east we see the massive peak of Jezerska Kočna (2,540 m a.s.l.), the second highest in the Kamnik-Savinja Alps (and at the same time located on the very edge of the range). Today visibility is limited by hot air, but with better clarity, you can also admire the Julian Alps from Grintovec.
Descent from Grintovec
After a few minutes of rest, eating and drinking, we set off on our way back. We return the same way we came here. Descending in rocky terrain takes us a lot of time, but on the scree slope we manage to pick up the pace a bit. In this way, we check in again at the Czech Hut at 4.45 PM (two hours after starting the descent). This time, however, we do not decide to lounge on the deckchairs, because we still have a 4.5-kilometer descent section ahead of us. For the first kilometer, we traverse a charming slope with a pastoral view of the Ravenska Kočna valley (so the valley we walked through in the first direction). Then the path disappears in the forest, emerging from it only after approx. two kilometers. At this stage, our interest is piqued by a group of friendly rocks located directly by the trail. We emerge from the forest onto a vast pastoral meadow with an insane view of the raw limestone of the Kamnik-Savinja Alps. Oh yes… I feel that this is exactly the panorama I need at the end of my alpine adventure this year.
We arrive in the village of Zgornje Jezersko a few minutes after 6.00 PM. Our trip today takes us approx. 10 hours. And well… I feel full satisfaction. Another alpine range, another massive peak to a quite rich collection already. Looking more broadly – a very intense three days in the Slovenian mountains, over 6,000 meters of elevation difference. And now? Now it’s time for an evening walk in Ljubljana, and then an overnight stay at a campsite near Maribor.
Date of trip: August 13, 2025
Trip statistics: 19 km, 2,100 meters of elevation difference
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