Route 1: Ivančna Gorica - Grosuplje (Perovo)

Ivančna Gorica is probably best known for its proximity to the medieval Stična monastery, where the monks of the Cistercian order still reside. If you start walking early enough, and if it is possible during your visit, it is recommended to take the time to visit the monastery with its basilica, Museum of Slovenian Christianity, and herbal pharmacy of the famous Stična priest, Simon Ašič.

Another interesting fact: here the Way of St. James overlaps with another pilgrimage route that leads through Slovenia: Emma's pilgrimage route, which leads through places connected with the life and work of the first Slovenian female saint, Saint Emma.

From Stična, the route leads through meadows, forests, and settlements, past homesteads, among pastures and orchards... to the first, smaller Chruch of St. James on the route, that in the village of Velika Dobrava. It does not stand in the middle of the village, but is instead sheltered by greenery, a little removed from the rest of the buildings.

From the village you will descend on a less visible path into the forest, past interesting conglomerate walls. Although the muffled sounds of traffic become more and more audible from a distance with each additional step, you will feel like a lone traveller, deep in the embrace of the forest. This feeling, however, soon dissipates when you approach the first houses along the wide macadam road. The macadam is replaced by asphalt and you find yourself on the road in front of Višnja Gora, which runs parallel to the highway and along which you go to the Church of St. Tilen; the picturesque centre of the town, which is one of the best-preserved Slovenian medieval settlements, rising on a hill on the other side of the highway. Next to the church, be sure not to miss the bust of the writer and priest Janez Cigler, author of the first Slovenian novel (”Sreča v nesreči”), who spent the last decades of his life in Višnja Gora.

Here, the Way of St. James overlaps with the popular hiking trail of the two waterfalls above Višnja Gora, leading past houses, the Church of St. Mary, grassy meadows, and a murmuring stream, until it leads into the forest and, after a long climb, emerges into the village of Blečji Vrh. You will be greeted by a view of the vast green landscape and hills stretching towards the southeast of the country.

This is the beginning of a long hike along asphalt roads; with scarce traffic at first, leading to the large Chruch of St. James in Polica. The first mention of this church, in the 14th century, coincides with a time of increasingly strong worship of the apostle James.

The route will then take you to the road leading to Grosuplje.

This part of the Way of St. James ends in the settlement of Perovo near Grosuplje, and from here it is about two kilometres to the city centre.