The best waterfall hikes and walks around Zrece

Great view, because a lot of deforestation is taking place (unfortunately the area is currently pretty devastated by the harvester and the paths are muddy)

The harvester has left some scars on the landscape, but now you have a fantastic view

Some crossings are quite tricky. Should take čare whre to turn left and after 100m right

As the Lobinca tumbles down from the delightful Pohorje Hills to the Drava Valley, it creates the Šumik Falls. This is Veliki Šumik, the larger of the two main cascades – the other being Mali Šumik, further downstream. At Veliki Šumik, the Lobinca crashes down an impressive 79 feet (24 m). The path between the two waterfalls is considered to be quite a challenging hike.

At Bajgot or Šimuk, there is an excursion point at the confluence of Lobnica and Črnava. There is a crossroads of several mountain trails. On Lobnica, a part of an 11 km long slide built in 1837 has been preserved, along which logs were harvested to sawmills in the valley. At the bridge, the path begins to the Pohorje primeval forest, to both waterfalls and on to Ruše. Up to 24 m high waterfall Veliki Šumik, where Lobnica falls over a high tonalite threshold, is 20 minutes, and up to 9 m high Mali Šumik, where Lobnica falls through a narrow stone gutter into the pool, 35 minutes. The last part of the route to Veliki Šumik is one of the most demanding routes. Next to Mali Šumik are the tonalite Ravbarska furnaces. According to folklore, there were hiding places, after which the cliff got its name. The Pohorje primeval forest covers 58 ha and is protected as a nature reserve. It is the last remnant of the Pohorje natural rainforest. Due to the inaccessible slopes along Lobnica, it has not yet been cut. Beech, spruce and fir trees grow in the rainforest, as well as many rare plants, including rusty sleet, alpine sagebrush, unusual limestone and beetle. Hikers are recommended to visit the rainforest and waterfalls. The route was restored and secured in 1991. In August 1941, the Pohorje company encamped in Šumik and from there, on 11 August, went on the attack on Ribnica na Pohorju. There were no forest roads at that time. In the wider area of Šumik, partisan units fought the Germans several times, and from the bases on Pohorje they attacked important points in the valley, e.g. the Maribor – Dravograd railway line, the Fala power plant, Lovrenc na Pohorju and other places where the Germans had their outposts. Unit XIV. on June 29, 1944, the divisions clashed with the Germans at Šumik and drove them out. Then 6 fighters of the National Liberation Army fell, among them the national hero Dušan Remih - Duško. A simple monument along the road to the nearby Gozdarski dom reminds us of this fight.

Black Lake is the largest lake in Pohorje, covering an area of just over two hectares. The well-known geographer Anton Melik assumes that the lake was formed in the feudal period, when the upper part of the shallow ravine of the Ribniščica stream was enclosed (Anton Melik: Styria with Prekmurje and the Mežica Valley, Slovenska matica, 1957). At that time, the forests on this side of Pohorje were owned by Konjic manors. Atlas Slovenije states that Črno jezero is the former Konjiški ribnik (Atlas Slovenije, Mladinska knjiga and Geodetski zavod Slovenije, 1992); this name confirms Melik's assumption. The lake is surrounded by high marshes, dwarf pine and spruce forests. The reflection of dark green in the water gives the impression that the water is black. On the northern side, the Črnava stream, once called Ribniščica, flows out of the lake.

Nice route view of pohorje

This time, for my moderate preservation of fitness, I chose Stenico - a 1091-meter peak, which leads us to the marked path from the settlement Vitanje. For the circular path, which passes from the steeper to the evener parts and vice versa we will need approx. 3h, depending on the individual. Unfortunately, from the very top of Stenica does not look at the nearby surrounding hills. To return to the valley, we can choose a marked approach or go down the valley along an otherwise unmarked, but rather visible and well-rounded path, but where in wet and icy winter conditions it is not unnecessary a little prudence. So, we finish the path and, as we say, squeeze the sausage.