Valentine Plave Sveta Gora DH Ferrata

Route with 2 climbs and two descents, first up Mount Sabotino on trails and dirt roads to the ruins of St. Valentine's church, descent on exposed coast path over the Soča to the bike path which you follow to Plave, climb on dirt road to the top of Sveta Gora and descent along the long and extremely challenging DH Ferratta.

Start from Solkan, cross the bridge over the Isonzo and, after a few meters of ascent, descend to the left on the bicycle path, continue to the right in sections on a dirt road and climb until you take the path leading to the bridge over the main road, climb to the right on a scenic path to the next military asphalt road for 3 hairpin bends and then continue straight on a dirt road that climbs to the ruin of the church of San Valentino, at the eastern end of the ridge of Mount Sabotino. You descend on the other side, toward the Isonzo, on the long rocky trail, steep in the first section, then much less steep but rather exposed to the right, on narrow, straight track over a drystone retaining wall with a rocky stony bottom. The only bend halfway up the trail makes it continue up the coast in the opposite direction with less exposure and somewhat higher speeds until it descends to the bike path, on which it continues left up and down for 8km to Plave, where it crosses the Soča on the bridge and climbs across to the mountain. First a paved section and then a dirt road with a medium gradient and some steep ramps with a rough surface, take an up and down path and then ride the last 2km on asphalt to the top of Sveta Gora. You descend slightly again until you reach the wooden sign "Sveta Gora" from which the two trails start, the classic Kraljika Sv.Gora and the new Ferratta DH, a very challenging authentic downhill. You take a right turn shortly after the sign and go downhill with rocky and sticky ground with wet, it is difficult to stay on the pedals unless you have a propensity for balancing and acrobatic jumps, in addition to the numerous sections on the coast without banks that put a strain on the sides of the tires. You cross a trail and continue on similar ground for over 1km more until you take the last slightly downhill trail that leads to the road next to the Soča, which you must ride on briefly to close the loop.