Kumen: A hillside settlement and route to Klopni vrh

Kumen is a widely scattered hillside settlement in the Lovrenško Pohorje. The farms are mostly isolated and shape the character of the settlement. Other landmarks include the wooded slopes of Pohorje near Kumen, the peat bogs south of Klopni vrh, and the hiking trail to this mountain. These bring together different aspects: settlement patterns, landscape, and a specifically described hike. When planning your trip, you can weigh these topics separately rather than viewing Kumen solely through the route or the landscape.

Settlement and landscape

The farms at higher elevations extend toward Lamprehtov vrh, which stands at 1,230 metres. The Pohorje slopes near Kumen are covered with continuous forest, predominantly of coniferous trees. Extensive peat bogs lie south of Klopni vrh. The information thus locates three aspects in different places: higher-elevation farms toward Lamprehtov vrh, forest on the Pohorje slopes near Kumen, and bogs south of Klopni vrh. This makes it possible to distinguish these landscape features rather than combining farms, forest, and bogs into a single characteristic of the area.

Hike to Klopni vrh

The route to Klopni vrh is considered easy. The municipal route description gives an ascent time of 2 hours 30 minutes and a descent time of 2 hours. Combined, the two walking times add up to four and a half hours; the ascent takes half an hour longer. The rating and the time estimates answer different questions: “easy” describes the route, while the duration gives a clear sense of the time needed for both sections. When planning your day, you can therefore consider the rating alongside the specific times.

After crossing the Radoljna, the hiking trail follows the slope named after Kumen. It crosses Turn at an elevation of 1,261 metres and then reaches Koča na Klopnem vrhu. On the return from Klopni vrh, you can visit a Partisan memorial site. Further along the route, the trail heads from Klopni vrh toward Pesek and then on to Rogla or the Lovrenška jezera.

Historical points of reference

Kumen is first mentioned between 1193 and 1220. A municipal entry dated 12 August 2021 reports that the project for the first Lovrenško cookbook was proposed and voted on in the settlement of Kumen. The earliest mention and the later entry are more than eight centuries apart and refer to different periods in the area's history.

Planning your trip

For planning purposes, the information can be grouped according to two interests. If you are primarily interested in the settlement and its landscape, the isolated farms, coniferous forest, and bogs south of Klopni vrh are the main features. If you are planning a hike, the ascent and descent times and the named waypoints are more useful. The option of visiting the Partisan memorial site on the return adds a historical stop to the hike. Before searching for a hotel in Kumen, you can decide whether you want your stay to focus more on the landscape or on the route to Klopni vrh.

Discover more destinations: Smolnik, Lovrenc na Pohorju.

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