LENGTH: 42 km
TYPE: CIRCULAR ROUTE
Recommended direction: Medven Draga – Vranjak Žumberački – Čućići – Rajići – Jelenići – Dane – Mrzlo Polje Žumberačko – Glušinja – Javor – Petričko Selo – Hartje – Željezo Žumberačko – Žamarija – Kostanjevac – Medven Draga
This is a somewhat more demanding and longer circular route, taking you through a very hilly terrain, with two higher ascents at Gornja Vas and Mrzlo Polje Žumberačko. The route starts and ends in Medven Draga, in one of the most beautiful valleys along the Slapnica river. Its canyon is a protected area consisting of a long valley, stretching from the foot of the Žumberak ridge, underneath Gornja Vas, to Medven Draga, where the Slapnica flows into the Kupčina. South of the confluence, there is a manor house, at the old Medven family estate, built in 1868, which is the starting point of our route. Not far from the manor house, in Čunkova Draga, next to the Kupčina river, there’s a watermill and the Medven farm, with accommodation facilities and a varied offer of traditional food and drinks, where you can renew your strength for this long and exhausting ride. A winding road from Medven and Čunkova Draga is going to take you to Kostanjevac, the administrative center of the Žumberak municipality, with the Our Lady of Sorrows chapel, built in 1672. The trail will then take you to Jurkovo Selo, where the Croatian linguist and Romanist Petar Skok was born. In the immediate vicinity, there’s a rural tourism estate Podžumberak, offering a unique experience of the area. It is in the middle of the Žumberak-Samoborsko gorje nature park and thus in a position to offer all the best of the Žumberak area. From Jurkovo Selo, the road goes through Žamarija and takes you to Hartje, Drašći Vrh and Željezno Žumberačko, on the ridge offering beautiful views of the whole area. An ascent to Petričko Selo is now in order, as well as the ascent to one of the larger Žumberak villages, Gornja Vas, situated at a prominent place, with views of a huge part of Žumberak, a part of Samoborsko gorje, Pokuplje and Gorski kotar, with Mala and Velika Kapela and Klek. Going from Gornja Vas to Glušinja, you’ll see the Javor hamlet, one of the rare examples of traditional villages, with wooden houses and barns. In the vicinity of Mrzlo Polje Žumberačko, there is a monument dedicated to the soldiers killed in WWII, as well as the St. Peter and Paul church, built in 1666. Just a few steps away, there are also the foundations of a former Catholic church of St. Lawrence from the 13th century.
Continuing the ride along a forest trail, you’ll go through Dane and arrive at the Žumberak-Samoborsko gorje nature park, with its highest point, the St. Gera peak, 1178 meters above the sea, quite prominent from afar, thanks to the telecommunications tower built there in 1984. Cycling by the Brisalo waterfall, not on the Slapnica river, but on its tributary, along a forest trail, surrounded by lush greenery, you’ll come to Medven Draga, the starting point of this interesting cycling adventure.
