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Great Fatra Voyage Tips and guide

You can check the original Wikivoyage article Here

Great Fatra (Veľká Fatra - Slovak pronunciation: [ˈʋeʎkaː ˈfatra]; also Greater Fatra) is a mountain range in the Western Carpathians in Central Slovakia. It is among the towns of Ružomberok, Harmanec, Turčianske Teplice and Martin.

Krížna massif

Understand

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Most valuable parts of the range are included in the Veľká Fatra National Park.

Landscape

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The Veľká Fatra lie to the southwest of the better known Malá Fatra mountains and are less developed, as well as, contrary to the name, being lower.

Flora and fauna

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Nearly 90% of the area is covered by forests – beech and beech-fir forests, in some places replaced by spruce plantations and relics of pines. The area of Harmanec is the richest yew-tree site in Europe. The original natural upper borderline of forests was lowered during the Wallachian colonization. There are many extensive upland pastures, where cattle is raised in the summer.

Climate

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Get in

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Map
Map of Great Fatra

Buses and trains go to the surrounding big cities. The ski centers and attractions are usually accessible by public buses too.

Fees and permits

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Get around

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See

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The following peaks/viewpoints belong into the range:

  • 2 Malinné (1,209 m). A peak in the Malinô Brdo ski center Ski Park Ružomberok (Q11835953) on Wikidata sk:Malinné_(lyžiarske_stredisko) on Wikipedia OSM directions Apple Maps directions (beta) Google Maps directions
  • 3 Smrekovica (1,530 m). A peak nearby Smrekovica ski area. Not accessible by regular walk paths. Smrekovica (Q9338777) on Wikidata OSM directions Apple Maps directions (beta) Google Maps directions
  • 4 Rakytov (1,567 m). Rakytov (Q960759) on Wikidata sk:Rakytov_(vrch) on Wikipedia OSM directions Apple Maps directions (beta) Google Maps directions
  • 5 Ostredok (1,596 m). The highest peak of the range. Ostredok (Q2587548) on Wikidata sk:Ostredok_(vrch_vo_Veľkej_Fatre) on Wikipedia OSM directions Apple Maps directions (beta) Google Maps directions
  • 6 Krížna (1,574 m). The best view of the southern mountains: Kremnické vrchy, Poľana, Vtáčnik. Krížna (Q11750086) on Wikidata sk:Krížna_(vrch_vo_Veľkej_Fatre) on Wikipedia OSM directions Apple Maps directions (beta) Google Maps directions
  • 7 Majer's rock (Majerova skala). A cliff near Krížna mountain with good overview over the Donovaly valley. Majerova skala (Q20860742) on Wikidata sk:Majerova_skala on Wikipedia OSM directions Apple Maps directions (beta) Google Maps directions
  • 8 Tlstá (1,208 m). View of Turiec basin. Tlstá (Q7810755) on Wikidata Tlstá on Wikipedia OSM directions Apple Maps directions (beta) Google Maps directions

Do

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Hiking

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One day hiking is possible in many places of the range, esp. popular are the ones at the ski centers. Some of the hikes can be relatively long and exhausting.

  • 1 Ľubochnianska valley (Ľubochnianska dolina) (Start from Lubochňa town). Longest valley of Slovakia - 25 km. Ends at the feet of mountains Ploská and Čierny kameň. Ľubochnianska dolina (Q3507016) on Wikidata sk:Ľubochnianska_dolina on Wikipedia OSM directions Apple Maps directions (beta) Google Maps directions
  • 2 Blatnica Valley. A densely forested karst valley. In places, lime and dolomite rocks are visible, however the best-known part of the valley is the rock window at its lower part. Blatnica Valley (Q4177980) on Wikidata Blatnica_Valley on Wikipedia OSM directions Apple Maps directions (beta) Google Maps directions
  • 3 Gader Valley. A long valley with the ruins on Blatnica castle. Gader Valley (Q4178048) on Wikidata Gader_Valley on Wikipedia OSM directions Apple Maps directions (beta) Google Maps directions
  • 4 Necpal Valley. Necpalská dolina (Q11790430) on Wikidata sk:Necpalská_dolina on Wikipedia OSM directions Apple Maps directions (beta) Google Maps directions
  • 5 Jasenská Valley. OSM directions Apple Maps directions (beta) Google Maps directions

Multi-day hiking:

Many 2- or 3-day walks through the whole range are possible. Hike planners like OsmAnd or Mapy.cz can be used to find possible hike paths.

One of the possible hikes measures 82 km and has 5,400 m of total elevation difference, so it may be exhausting. Start is in usually in Ružomberok (Malinô Brdo ski center), the end can be either Harmanec (nearby Banská Bystrica, see here, use google translator if needed) or Ľubochňa (see here).

Skiing

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  • 6 Malinô Brdo (Cablecar bottom station in Ružomberok). OSM directions Apple Maps directions (beta) Google Maps directions
  • 7 Smrekovica (From Ružomberok, turn into Podsuchá and go up the valley.). A secluded and small one, only 400 m. OSM directions Apple Maps directions (beta) Google Maps directions
  • 8 Donovaly. Not in Veľká Fatra, but right at its edge. OSM directions Apple Maps directions (beta) Google Maps directions

Buy

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Eat

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Drink

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Sleep

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Lodging

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At the ski centers, there is plethora of accommodation available.

Best bet is sleeping in alpine huts or one of the sheep-guards housings. A (non-exhausting) list of available locations:

  • 1 Hotel Smrekovica. OSM directions Apple Maps directions (beta) Google Maps directions
  • 2 Chata pod Borišovom. OSM directions Apple Maps directions (beta) Google Maps directions
  • 3 Kýšky. OSM directions Apple Maps directions (beta) Google Maps directions
  • 4 Suchý vrch. OSM directions Apple Maps directions (beta) Google Maps directions
  • 5 Kráľova studňa. OSM directions Apple Maps directions (beta) Google Maps directions

Camping

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For the multi-day hiking, it is possible to sleep in designated places in tents, but because of the high bear presence (compared to other parts of Slovakia), it may be a bit risky. As of 2016, no bear-caused fatalities had happened in the previous few years though.

Stay safe

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Animals like brown bear, grey wolf and Eurasian lynx live here. Although they usually are more afraid of humans than the other way around, it's always good to be prepared for the chance of meeting them.

Go next

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