This Sunday we decided to revisit a trail we've hiked only twice before, last some 8 years ago. The trail starts from the village of Dolni Pasarel, some 35 minutes drive from home, and climbs up to the ridge of Plana mountain.
The day was supposed to be sunny, but it was cloudy and rather cold, especially up on the ridge.
The beech trees on Plana were spectacular and totally justified the effort to climb that close to the village and the road in the height of the hunting season.
The trail is fairly steep, especially in the beginning, as it quickly gathers altitude above the village.
Me-made items, worn on this hike:
I: lingerie, knitted sweater, hat and fingerless mitts
Husband: men's boxers, Burda cargo pants, Burda blouse
Hike info:
Date: 18 October 2026
Destination: peak Ziganka (1157 m)
Mountain: Plana
Total length: 11.5 km
Elevation gain: 450 m
Total duration (plus picnic and rests): 3 and a half hours
Average difficulty: 4 / 10
The trail seems not to be very popular, we met only a couple of hikers, several motor bikers buzzed in the distance and two cars with hunters and dogs passed us by.
We climbed up to a small hill, called Ziganka peak and found a nice sheltered place under a birch tree, where we had our picnic - tortillas, muffins and sweet herbal tea.
The place was beautiful and serene, but cold and windy, so we didn't linger long there.
On the way back we tried to find a partial alternative trail that was present on the map, but in reality it was totally abandoned and overgrown, so we returned to the initial trail and traced our steps back to the village and the car.
The start of the trail is next to the village stadium and we could hear an active and very emotional football match in progress as we approached the village. Unfortunately we reached the stadium with the last signal of the judge, the game was over, otherwise we had planned to stay and watch awhile.
