The Mala Ponca (Little Ponca) is the most isolated mountain in the Martuljek range. It is Velika Ponca's "little sister", and constantly clings to her side.
These mountains are linked together. They are wild, inaccessible and treacherous. They don't let just anyone get close to them. Stanko Klinar first describes Velika Ponca in his book "100 slovenskih gora" (One Hundred Slovenian Peaks): The latter may be higher than Špik, and by a good hundred metres, but because of Špik's more impressive appearance, Velika Ponca is more often than not overshadowed. There are even fewer people who are familiar with its name. The benefit of this lack of fame is well-known amongst the peaceful alpine communities: wild trails, an untouched environment and almost complete isolation. In the west, Mala Ponca (2505 m) stands close to her big sister. The mountain extends towards the west, to Špikova Škrbina (2184 m), forming a long, intimidating ridge adorned with flames ..."
The entire Martuljek range and the area below it is, for the most part, very challenging to traverse. There are very few marked routes and no equipped or secured routes at all. This is because the area was declared a landscape park in 1949, and has been protected as such ever since. In 1981, it became a part of the newly formed Triglav National Park.
