Goteniški Snežnik is the highest peak of the karstic Goteniška gora, overgrown with forest. It rises above Kočevska Reka and Gotenica. The area that was guarded and closed in the decades after the Second World War. The ascent to Goteniški Snežnik is therefore for some still a feat that they once did not dare to even think about.
We walk under the rocks of the Stone Wall. This is the most picturesque part of the trail, where we can find ourselves in trouble in the wet and snowy weather. In such conditions, a more suitable route is from Kočevska Reka, which almost all the time runs along the road. When the rocks recede slightly, the path runs uphill again and ascends to a smaller pass. From there we can walk to the rocky edge, from which the view sails all the way to Klek in Croatia. The most beautiful of course is Kočevska Reka and the landscape around it, which was once much more populated than it is today. 100 years ago Kočevska Reka had a population of 469, but has less than three hundred nowadays. Gotenica had more than three hundred people in 1937, but was completely emptied after the war.
From the pass we continue slightly uphill, then down to the forest road. After about twenty minutes the road leads us to a split. There we turn left and ascend to the next pass, where we cross the path again.
We reach the rocks; through which we quickly climb to the top. There are two boxes on it: one is empty, and the other has a stamp and a registration book. In it we can see that the Goteniški Snežnik rarely receives a mountain visit. From the top, there is a beautiful view to the northeast and east. Among other things, we see St. Ana above Ribnica, Čemšeniška planina, Pohorje, Kum, Kočevski rog, Gorjanci and the forested Stojna, behind which Kočevsko polje is hidden.
