Running, hiking, biking

Tag: nature

  • Chata pod Suchým with David

    Chata pod Suchým with David

    Our first sleepover together at a mountain hut, where we had to carry everything we needed on our own backs. Great adventure in Mala Fatra.

    An ordinary thing for someone, for us it was something really big, Dávid packed his own backpack for the first time (lego and sweets, he obviously knows what’s important:) ) and I packed two people in one backpack for the first time.

    Starhrad

    Several hiking trails lead to Chata pod Suchým, and I chose the one from Nezbudská Lúčka around the ruins of Starhrad. We came to Nezbudská Lúčka by train, and from there it is 8.6 km and a healthy 931 meters of altitude up to the cottage.

    Ruins of Starhrad

    Starhrad is located opposite of Strečno Castle, on the other bank of the Váh River above the Domašínsky meander. The castle has preserved the masonry and layout of a medieval castle. The tower is still preserved up to the height of the second floor. To the west of it, the remains of the palace are visible, and the other damaged walls trace the terrain of the rock cliff.The original windows and entrances have been preserved in some places. A part of the Gothic bay window can be seen on the palace. There is a beautiful view from the ruins. It is an ideal place to take a break and strengthen before the most demanding part of the ascent to the hut.

    This is followed by a really steep climb up to the Plešel hill, during which I heard “when will we be at the cottage?” about 47 times.

    steep climb begins

    The cottage itself is located at an altitude of 1075 m.a.s.l., under Suchý Hill. The original cottage was from 1938, the cottage was a two-story building with an attic, it was built in a very modern style and there were a total of 80 beds in the tastefully furnished rooms and the common dormitory. The generator-lit cottage also had a dining room and a kitchen where tourists could prepare their meals. There was also water supply. However, this cottage was set on fire by German soldiers in 1944, it burned for 25 hours and the cottagers were not allowed to put it out.

    View on Váh

    Only the foundations and the chimney remained from the original cottage, the construction of the new one began in 1947. First, the construction of the farm building began. The beginnings were very difficult, they lived in a tent, later in a lumberjack’s hut. The material was transported from Strečno on wagons under the Starhrad, there was a transshipment area covered with a tarpaulin, and from there it was carried up by people and mules along the sidewalks. The cottage was completed in the summer of 1949. It was almost identical to the first cottage, just without front windows in the attic part, as the gable roof was replaced with a symmetrical one.

    We made it

    The current cottage offers a year-round kitchen and tourist rooms with shared bathroom facilities. Since the electricity is supplied by a generator, everything goes out at 10 and even hot water is only available in a limited amount 🙂

    But it was a wonderful experience for us that we managed the ascent together and enjoyed our stay even with such “uncomfortable” conditions for the modern world.

    The next day we literally ran down and therefore we had some time to see the Nezbud quarry before the train – it is a flooded quarry where asphalt crumb was once mined, it has a nice green-blue color and you can walk around it.

    Quarry Nezbud

    Dávid was 6 years old at that time.

    to the cottage: 8.6km, 3:39 active time, 5:13 total, 931 m ascend
  • Vyhne, Repište, Červená Studňa

    Vyhne, Repište, Červená Studňa

    Running at the beginning of March can still be treacherous, there can still be quite deep snow fields in the mountains, especially in shady sections the snow sometimes last until May. So we chose the route at lower altitudes. And this route is absolutely ideal for spring, it is runnable, often leads through meadows that would be too hot from the sun in summer. And in the middle of the hill there is a Hájovňa, where you can buy coffee, radler, cookies…

    I recommend the route in this direction, with the first stop near Repiste, where Marcus Castle is located. It is a replica of a medieval castle, which was built only in the 21st century. It includes the Chapel of St. Barbara, which is one of the stops on the Barbora Trail. The chapel stands on the spot where miners once stopped on their way to work and prayed to their patron saint for good luck and protection. However, you will not be able to get to the bottom, as it is private property that is not accessible to the public.

    Marcus

    From the Marcus Castle we continue along the Barborska Road to the Červená Studňa saddle, where the Červená Studňa tajch and Hájovňa are located. The construction of the tajch was designed by J. K. Hell. He wanted to use its strategic location to build a driving ditch that would bring water to the Amália shaft to power a water column pumping machine.

    This route has a lot of beautiful views

    We had coffee and a radler in Hájovňa, and since it was warm, we enjoyed them in the sun on a bench in front of Hájovňa. Back to Vyhne we went along the ridge on the opposite side of the valley, along the Andrej Kmeť educational trail. This is a nice cycle path, which also offers views of the Marcus Castle. We turn off cycle path to follow yellow marking and to see the views from Jelenia skala. From its top, under favorable conditions, you can see the beautiful landscape from Tribeč to the Low Tatras. From the surrounding hills, you will see Vtáčnik, Kremnické vrchy or Pohronský Inovec.

    Snow covered Lower tatras in the background

    From Jelenia skala we descend along the green path down to the valley and make up for the lost meters by climbing steeply along an unmarked forest path. We reach a not-so-used green tourist trail and follow it, descending slightly, to Hájska skala.

    Cross on the top of Jelenia skala

    We return to the parking lot past the spa chapel of Our Lady of the Crown. This is an early work of the famous architect Ladislav Hudec. It survived the devastating spa fire in 1945 and today stands on a hill above the village as a monument to the spa’s past glory, hiding a sculpture of St. John of Nepomuk.

    The chappel (source internet)
    29.93km, 3:42 active time, 4:18 total, 1233 m ascend
  • Paradajs, Tanád

    Paradajs, Tanád

    A few days before Christmas, it was a foggy days, so we looked for the sun. This time above Banská Štiavnica, I parked my car in the parking lot near Hájovna in the Červená Studňa saddle.

    There is also a pond of the same name (at an altitude of 787 m above sea level). It was built as a taich in 1759 according to the design of the inventor Jozef Karol Hell, so that the drive ditch from it brought water to the Amália shaft to drive the water column pumping machine as well as to other mining works. The length of its dam is 117 m. It is the last built and still preserved Stiavnica tajch – six years after its construction, James Watt invented the steam engine.

    Ont he way to Paradajs

    We continue along the nature trail to Mount Paradajs (939 m.a.s.l.). It is the second highest peak of Štiavnické vrchy, it is interesting that further south along the ridge is the high Tanád hill. Paradajs has a flat unforested peak that provides wonderful views of Štiavnica (today it only provided us with menhirs emerging from the fog:) On its top there is also a newly built semi-circular shelter where you can have a great picnic.

    Dávid on one of the menhirs

    We continued through the foggy forest to Tanád, where we finally managed to climb out of the fog into the sun for a while.

    Finally above the fog
    Sun on Tanád

    From Tanád, we turn onto the yellow road and descend steeply, then we turn onto the green educational path of Milan Kapusta, past the old tunnels and the Ottergrund tajch.

    We always found something, that makes it worth it

    Tajch Ottergrund is the highest artificial reservoir in Štiavnické vrchy. It is small, but it has one big advantage.Banská Štiavnica is right in the palm of your hand from here, including the iconic calvary (but of course it couldn’t be fog:D). The Tajch began to be built in 1751 and served as an energy source for the nearby mine shafts, as well as a source of drinking water for the city and a fire tank. Fortunately, it has been preserved to this day, it was recently renovated and a safety spillway was built here. The current depth is 6.6 meters.

    Today we finish in Hájovňa in the saddle of Červená Studňa, where we warm up nicely after a foggy and wet day. As a reward, we treated ourselves to cappuccino and Dávid to sausages and juice.

    7.78km, 3h, 321 m ascend

  • Caste Šomoška

    Caste Šomoška

    I have wanted to visit this castle for a long time, but the distance from Banská Bystrica discouraged me. Now, however, a new section of the highway has finally opened and it shortened the journey to an acceptable hour and a half, so on Saturday, December 5th, we set out to explore the border castle and its surrounding area. And there is so much to see!

    You cannot miss the parking lot under the castle, the road to it is perfectly marked, and to my surprise, right next to the parking lot is a new and large playground and a buffet (which, however, is only open in season).

    There is also a map of the nature trail by the parking lot, or just a shortened version to the castle and back.

    nature trail map šomoška

    We decided to walk the entire nature trail in the direction of the quarry first, then the castle 🙂 The path to the quarry was made special by the forest stairs and the former school building. It is a ruin of a medium-sized building from which the walls, a few old doors and fallen windows have been preserved. The rest is slowly but surely being reclaimed by the forest.

    The quarry is called Mačacia and was founded in 1880. At its peak, up to 1,500 people worked there. A mining settlement with a school, dormitories, a shop and two financial guard buildings gradually grew up around it. Basalt was mined here and cat’s heads were made from it, and the raw material was exported to many European countries.

    Former shop building

    Above the quarry there is a lookout tower with a beautiful view of Šomoška Castle and Šalgó Castle behind it (which is now in Hungary).

    From the lookout tower

    From the lookout we return along the nature trail past the shop building and then past the financial guard building. We descend into the valley, cross the bridge and then the climb to the castle awaits us.

    Before we climb to the castle, we still have to see a sea of ​​stones and a basalt stone waterfall. David likes it very much, he would love to climb it all day long 🙂

    Stone waterfall

    The castle itself was founded in the late 13th or early 14th century by the Kačič family. It was built from basalt blocks, which were quarried directly from the castle hill. During the construction, a famous stone waterfall was also discovered. In 1310, it became the property of Matúš Čák.

    The original appearance of the castle is not clear. It is assumed that it originally consisted of a small towerless layout, approximately triangular in plan. Later in the Middle Ages it was expanded with a Gothic palace in the east and also with an entrance tower. A major reconstruction took place in the 16th century, when it was expanded with two cannon bastions, a barbican and two buildings on the north and south sides. The interiors were equipped with carved shaped elements.

    On the way back to the parking lot, we were also impressed by the beautifully renovated ponds, which are supplied with water from a nearby spring. They are interconnected to allow for the migration of aquatic animals. David was 6 at that time.

    9.41km, 2:37 active, 3:17 total, 315 metre ascent

  • SNP girl’s project day 9

    SNP girl’s project day 9

    This time we had a 45km long stage from Zliechov to Trenčín. In the morning at 7:00 we stopped the car in front of the same grocery store where we ended the stage last time. It was an above-average warm day for November, the sun shone through the clouds, ideal weather for running.

    Steep part of the climb

    The path undulated up and down through meadows, later turning into a forest path and we slowly climbed to Vápeč. The climb was long, I think about 10 kilometers, but only very gentle. The very end was steeper, but Vápeč rewarded us with a beautiful circular view of the wide surroundings.

    On Vápeč
    View from Vápeč

    Then we descended to Horná Poruba and continued along a long forest path covered with leaves. The leaves covered puddles, mud and even roots or stones, so each of us jumped into at least one puddle. Somewhere near the stone gate we met Jožko, who was going to drive the car to the destination in Trenčín and was running towards us. We were all looking forward to some refreshments in Trenčianske Teplice. We found a pub by the lake and the non-alcoholic radler just disappeared inside us.

    After Horná Poruba

    From Teplice to Trenčín it was again a leafy forest path, so to speak just over the hill. However, Trenčín tormented us, 5 kilometers on asphalt, running from one side of the road to the other and the only interesting thing it offered us along the way was the silhouette of the castle in the background.

    But overall we enjoyed it, this autumn day was perfect for such a beautiful stage with rustling leaves.

    45.5km, 6h 58min, 1645 m ascend
  • Veľký choč

    Veľký choč

    A beautiful sunny autumn Sunday, perfect for the mountains.

    We started in Likavka near Ružomberok and after just a few kilometers we came across the first attraction – Likavka Castle, but we only saw its outer walls because it has been closed for a long time due to reconstruction.

    Castle Likava

    Even so, it stands majestically on the rocky spur of Predný Choč and is worth visiting, as Likava is one of the largest castle buildings in central Slovakia, and the massiveness and height of the palace-like complex of the upper castle (more than 36 m measured at the highest point of the northern palace) ranks it among the highest castles in Slovakia.

    Výhľad na hrad Likava

    We continue with the red mark, at the crossroads we also go to a viewpoint on a meadow below the peak of Predný Choč. The viewpoint is located at an altitude of 1170 m above sea level and consists of a meadow, surrounded by a forest on three sides. The viewpoint provides a view mainly to the south. From the viewpoint we will have a view of the city of Ružomberok, the Dolný Liptov region and the Veľká Fatra and Nízke Tatry mountains.

    At the Spuštiak saddle we continue to Stredná Poľana, from where we choose the winter road to Veľký Choč.

    Veľký Choč (1,611.0 m above sea level) is the highest peak in the Choč Mountains in Slovakia. The peak is very popular with tourists. It has the shape of an irregular pyramid with numerous cliffs. There is an excellent circular view from the top of Choč. Its peak is covered with pine trees, from Valaská Dubová it has a slightly rising shape, while from the north and from Lúčky it is in a steep slope. And it was this steep slope that we descended. Due to the snow, mud and rocky ground, we descended carefully and slowly. Fortunately, the most dangerous places were secured with chains.

    At Žimerová we turned off the red one and headed towards Turícký tajch. It is a really small body of water, but at least it served as a reference point for us (we turned off here onto an inconspicuous forest path, which led us back to the blue tourist trail. We continued along the blue trail to Likavka (well, almost, because we took a wrong turn and ran across the field to the castle :D)

    25km, 3h56min active time, 4:38 total, 1566 metre ascend
  • Slovenia 2025

    Slovenia 2025

    4 day short trip to Slovenia, on the edge of Triglav National Park. The guys were running the Julian Alps Trail Run and Lucka and I went to support them and do a little running.

    The first day we arrived in the afternoon so the only thing on the to do list was to find a good restaurant, buy groceries and see Lake Jasna.

    Lake Jasna is the name of two interconnected lakes located just a short distance from Kranjska Gora. It is an alpine lake with crystal clear water and breathtaking mountain scenery.

    We also walked through the center of Krajnska Gora, where it was already bustling with the upcoming race. It is a smaller alpine town with a bunch of good restaurants and stalls in the center.

    The guys were supposed to start on Friday evening, and Lucka and I went to run one of the shorter routes from the Julian Alps Trail Run in the morning. We chose a 25km route that took us into the hills above the valley with great views of the Julian Alps, especially the Špik peak. But for our taste, there was quite a lot of asphalt on this route and not enough water:D It took us almost 4 hours to run. In the afternoon, we returned to the restaurant from the previous day (Figo restaurant) where we really enjoyed it.

    25.67km, 3h 51min, 875m ascend

    On Saturday, the plan was to encourage the boys, so we packed the stroller and bike for Anton and ran 15km to the village of Gozd Matjulek – on the way we noticed a turnoff to the waterfalls and that really caught my attention. I would have liked to see them. But there was no time, we got to the refreshment station about half an hour before Jožko, so for now we walked through the village of Dovje, in the middle of it there was a reservoir with water and giant trout in it.

    Trouts

    And it had beautiful views of the Alps. Jožko finished his 107 kilometer at about 3 pm, he was really overheated and his stomach was protesting, but his legs were still going. Miloš was supposed to arrive at 6 pm and that was quite late, we couldn’t wait for him. So we continued running to the last refreshment stop and from there quickly to the finish line where we managed to arrive before Jožko by about a minute 🙂

    From cycle path to Dovje

    And since we wanted to encourage Miloš too, we went back for the last refreshment stop and then back to the finish line. Both guys did it brilliantly in under 24 hours.

    Village Dovje

    On Sunday, no one wanted to go, but I just couldn’t get the waterfalls out of my head, so I set my alarm so I could get around them before the planned departure at 10 a.m. After 3 kilometers of asphalt, I ran into the Martujlek Valley, which is named after the Martujlek stream, which springs high in the mountains. As the stream descends, beautiful waterfalls appear.

    The Lower Martuljek Waterfall is the largest and most impressive of the waterfalls, cascading into a picturesque canyon from a height of over 50 meters. It can be admired from viewing platforms on the hiking trail.

    Lower Martuljeks waterfall

    Above the lower waterfall is the upper Martuljek waterfall, a hidden gem hidden among the rocks of the gorge. The upper waterfall is smaller, but no less magnificent. It is reached by a path secured with safety ropes.

    Upper Martuljeks waterfall
    Some parts of the path were even marked as a ferrata on the map (however, in the photo, the part is marked as a ladder)
    14.25km, 1h 57 min, 479m ascend
  • Skymaraton Chopok

    Skymaraton Chopok

    I haven’t raced in a long time, mainly because we have a lot of our own projects and few free weekends:)

    But when I received the entry fee for the Chopok Skymarathon, I didn’t refuse and so on September 6, 2025 I stood at the start under Chopok in front of the Srdiečko hotel.

    The starting gun was accompanied by thunder in the background and even though the storms were predicted for the afternoon, they arrived right in the morning. Within 30 minutes I was soaked to the bone and the conditions were even more difficult, slippery roots, wet stones, mud.. But at least it wasn’t hot.

    During the storm

    After the initial climb to Kosodrevina, there was a traverse almost to the M.R. Štefánik hut and quite a few sections were runnable, from the hut there was a fairly long steep section down to the cave of dead bats, where it was quite slippery. I went relatively slowly and managed it without falling. There was a nice, quite runnable path back to Kosodrevina and so I ran as much as I could.

    There is sun after the storm

    I ran the refreshment stop only with a refill of ionts and a long, really long climb to the Krížské sedlo awaited me. Here I started to feel that my strength was waning and there was a reason, almost 20km and I had eaten almost nothing.. mistake..

    After first half

    I mostly walked to the refreshment stop on Chopok, where I stuffed myself with a banana and a chocolate bar, replenished my fluids, and jumped over the Tatra granite to the Demänovský saddle, where the trail started to rise again. I already felt that today would be very difficult, because I had less strength than I would have liked, especially uphill.

    Half foggy, half sunny

    The descent from Krúpov saddle was steep, rocky, muddy and strenuous, it took a lot of my strength, but the forest from Záver širokej doliny was beautifully foggy, mystical, covered in moss, I enjoyed it..

    Mystical forest

    The last refreshment stop on Biela Púť and now it’s just a climb, I tried to replenish my energy, but I knew that it would be more walking than running.. It was quite easy up to Orlia Skala, I walked quite briskly. But up the slope? That completely turned me off and I could barely move from one foot to the other, my head was starting to hurt, my stomach was protesting… It wasn’t the performance of the year, but I didn’t give up, and I walked all the way to the finish line, I was the 6th woman at the finish line with a time of 7h 33min.

    Slowly and gloomily up the slope, in places the sign was almost invisible
    43,4 km, 7h 33min, 2680m ascend
  • Manínska Tiesňava

    Manínska Tiesňava

    Since the Manínska tiesňava itself is very short and I didn’t feel like traveling from such a distance just for about 200 meters, we decided to take a circuit through the Partizánska cave and end at the Manínska tiesňava.

    We parked at the campsite below the Manínskov tiesňava, where the yellow tourist sign also starts. The campsite is great with a swimming pool, new kitchen and sanitary facilities, we plan to come back here next year and spend a few nights here:)

    View from switchbacks

    The sign after about a kilometer starts to climb quite steeply until it turns into switchbacks. Some of them offer a beautiful view of the Považský Castle and the valley in front of it. After climbing the switchbacks, we come to a resting place with a fireplace and prepared wood. However, we have nothing to grill, so we just quickly refresh ourselves and continue to the cave.

    Partizánska cave, at the end there is almost complete darkness

    Partizánska Cave is a freely accessible cave. It consists of a single passage, approximately 20 meters long. The cave itself is located on the rocky cliff of Veľký Manín and, despite the fact that it does not contain any karst decoration, it was very interesting for us. The last few meters to the cave lead along a rock with safety features. And Dávid loves that.

    View from the cave

    Apparently, just by the name, it will be clear to everyone what this cave was used for. It is a place where partisans hid during the SNP.

    From the cave we descend almost the whole time to the mouth of the Manínska tiesňava.

    Manínska tiesňava

    Just 100 years ago, the gorge had a completely different shape. Its rocks were not covered with vegetation, as they are today.

    The narrowest part was impassable for wagons, and the carters had to unload the load, disassemble the wagons and reassemble them after. This was the case until 1933, when part of the cliff was blasted away. At that time, a paved road was built across the gorge.

    One more cave

    After passing through the gorge, we turned to the cave under Černokňažník, which was smaller than the Partizánska cave, but we discovered a bat in it and the view was worth it.

    At the time of the hike, Dávid was just 6 years old.

    10.58km, 3h52min active time, 4h 25min total
  • Súľov castle

    Súľov castle

    Súľov Castle is located on a popular tourist route through the Súľov Rocks. Súľov Castle is built on a rocky cliff and offers beautiful views. The hike leads along an educational trail – it is an approximately 5km circuit with 17 stops.

    rock window

    The castle was built in the 13th century to protect a nearby road. It is also considered one of the most difficult castles to access in the area. The castle was built between three massive rock formations. The ruins still show how the foundations of the castle adapted to the terrain. The castle complex consisted of an upper and lower castle, with an estimated distance of 25 meters between the two parts of the castle, and a height difference of 14 meters from the level of the lower castle to the first floor of the upper castle. The height of the ruins is approximately 18 meters.

    to the castle

    The foundations of the buildings and traces of beams and anchors of the vault cut into the rock, as well as slight remains of walls with window openings, have been preserved from the constructions.

    In the lower castle, a part of the palace with an observation platform on its supporting rock is preserved, the entrance to the castle with an embrasure in the rock and a dug-out rock gorge before the entrance to the upper castle are also noticeable.

    In the upper castle, in the middle palace there is a vault and traces of a stone staircase, a rock pylon, which bears traces of a staircase and at which one enters the highest part of the castle with traces of a cistern and a lookout tower through a hole in the masonry and an iron ladder.

    path from the castle

    The path from the castle is quite slippery for the first few hundred meters and even though there are handrails, it is still quite an adrenaline rush. But we managed it without falling. At the time of the hike, David was just 6 years old.

    5,28km, 1h 58min active time, 2h 53min total