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.

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.

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)




















































