Small Mountain St. Ana

The small mountain or Mala gora as said in slovene language is a hill located above the Ribnica valley. There is a lot of forestry located on it. The altitude is 920m where the one from Ribnica is 489m. On the way there is a natural road with tables describing vegetation on that specific part. The climb is not too difficult and is therefore suitable for families and unexperienced climbers. It is a popular hiking place for many locals.

Mala gora: small mountain. Source: http://thumbs.geago.si/data/RecordFieldThumbnail.ashx?ProfileID=Luizem@Luz&rid=3858@lay_images&size=1280,0&FieldID=Data&offsetField=ThumbnailOffset&centerOffset=0

St. Ana church is the one recognizable thing on the hill. The lightning and fire made several amages to the church in the past. There is a ceremony inside three days a year: on New Year's Eve and St. Ana feast on July 26th along with the following Sunday. The folk tale says the foot of St. Ana is printed on one of the stones outside. During the Otoman era people used to make bonfire nearby to warn people about the Turks coming their way.

St. Ana church. Source: http://www.ribnica24.eu/wp-content/uploads/sveta_ana_na_mali_gori.jpg

The view from the St. Ana church is really nice, especially on sunny days. One can see the Ribnica town and some of the local valleys. For the New Year's Eve people drop rockets from there. If you continue walking for 10minutes more, you arrive to the Walls of St. Ana with a nice view of the other side. You can also get a stamp on one of the stones.

The view. Source: https://www.google.si/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiQ_bOMj_zTAhVKPFAKHdvmAMsQjRwIBw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ribnica24.eu%2Fpredstavitev-ribnice%2Fnaravne-znamenitosti%2Fsveta-ana-na-mali-gori%2F&psig=AFQjCNGOoQs0IgY-a_mJuXqryHp7QmH9hQ&ust=1495288774707679

On the way to the top you will encounter the cottage called Jamarski dom (Cavemen' cottage) which got its name from France's cave. It is 5m deep an opens up in a small hall. The cave and the cottage got its name by the caveman France Škrabec. The cottage has been built in 2010. It is situated on one of the main roads to St. Ana church and it has a bar inside. A bit further on is Seljan, a hamlet with just a few houses and from there on you can continue to the top of the hill.

Cavemen cottage. Source: http://www.ribnica24.eu/wp-content/uploads/jamarski_dom_pri_francetovi_jami_otvoritev.jpg

How to get there

The town Ribnica is located 40km from the slovene capital Ljubljana. From there you can take the bus number 19 from the Central bus station in Ljubljana, direction Kočevje. The buses run frequently, beginning around 5am and running until 11pm. For more information about the departures you can check it on the webpage: https://www.ap-ljubljana.si/en/, from Ljubljana to Lepovče. You can buy the ticket directly by the driver which costs around 5.60€ one way. It takes around one hour to get to the station Lepovče, which is one station before Ribnica.

Turn left and follow the hill with the church you can see from there. At the ond of the village of Lepovče there is a macadam road. From there simply follow the signs that say Sveta Ana or red and white markings.