asphalt | gravel |
Besides the tour across the Šentviška planota plateau, there is another circular tour routed across a pre-alpine plateau located between the Soča valley and the Čepovan valley. Except for a short gravel road section, the circular cycling tour across the Banjška planota plateau (700 m and higher), or the subalpine pearl as this plateau is also called, follows the winding paved roads. Agriculture and cattle breeding represent the most important activities of the plateau therefore the entire tour is routed across the well-cultivated countryside with grazing cattle herds. At the same time, the plateau represents a high altitude Karst plateau without running water, with caves and precipices, and other Karst features. The village of Banjšice is also well-known due to the events of the World War I when, in the 11th Isonzo battle, the Austro-Hungarian army had to retreat from the western edge of the plateau to its central part which they barely defended.
The entire tour only includes two ascents. The first, shorter one, starts from the village of Kanalski Vrh and leads to the village of Lužarji and includes the only short, otherwise well-arranged, section of a gravel road. Here, you will be greeted with splendid views of the outskirts of the Julian Alps and with the start of the next section of the tour leading towards the top of Mt. Kuk first through the villages of Mrcinje and Trušnje and later through the villages of Raven, Breg and Krvavec. The second, somewhat longer ascent to the top of Mt. Kuk shouldn’t be too demanding due to the marvellous views which you will experience along the way. The layout of the trail is very dynamic and includes one only descent worth mentioning which leads to the village of Bate. The ascend to the plateau from the town of Kanal via the village of Morsko requires you to overcome additional 500 meters of a well-routed road, whilst the other two access roads come from the villages of Čepovan and Grgar located under Mt. Sveta gora.
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