Mysterious Path through Tribeč: Path for the Brave

Today's adventure begins and ends in the village of Zlatno, where a scene from the movie Trhlina was also filmed. The yellow hiking trail helps us navigate from the village and soon leads us to the relatively new tourist shelter Zlatno. Just a little behind the shelter, our yellow trail connects with the Tribeč cycling ridge, which links two important places: the town of Nitra and Penhýbel, which separates the Vtáčnik and Tribeč mountain ranges.

We follow the old asphalt road to the Žľaby junction, where the Tribeč cycling ridge briefly departs. However, we continue to the right on the opposite side and start ascending more steeply on the forest road to Javorový Hill (731 m asl). During the ascent, we enjoy views of Veľký Tribeč (our destination), the ruined Gýmeš castle, or Veľký Lysec, about which you can read more in another of our articles. We leave the forest section behind for a while and after a nutritious climb, we reach the traverse of Javorový Hill, where we again connect with the Tribeč cycling ridge.

The traverse of Javorový Hill is probably the most beautiful place on today's trip. It offers similarly fantastic views of the southern part of the Tribeč mountains as mentioned a few lines above. We face the final 350 meters of climbing to the summit of Javorový Hill, which has a rocky character. At the summit, you can expect only partial views, and only in winter, so it is best to enjoy the views from the traverse.

From Javorový Hill, we continue on the standard ridge trail, mostly passing through forest without views. Partial views are offered by the meadow west of Javorový Hill, Medvedí Hill, and occasionally some windthrows before the saddle under Veľký Tribeč.

About 120 meters from the saddle, we find the Pustovník spring, whose output depends on the season. Therefore, it is best to take enough fluids with you just in case. From the saddle, we face the last steep climb over a defensive rampart / hillfort, which is one of the unexplored archaeological mysteries. It was special because of its location, hidden deep in the hills amidst dense forest, in a network of intersecting ravines and subsidiary ridges.

Unfortunately, the summit of Veľký Tribeč at 830 m asl offers no views, but the Nitra self-governing region plans to build a beautiful lookout tower there, which we are already very much looking forward to. However, it is a magical place where we find a table and a bench, so we can lay out our refreshments and regain strength. Veľký Tribeč is also known for the three crosses standing at this place.

From the summit, we gradually descend back to the saddle under Veľký Tribeč, this time taking the red trail - Ponitrianska magistral for the descent. The descent is quite steep initially, but occasional views easily compensate. We cross the blue cycling trail leading to Trojchotár, and at the Kľačany forester's lodge, we join the asphalt road and again the Tribeč cycling ridge. At the point Zlatno, below Vŕšky, we leave the cycling ridge and descend through a meadow to our goal, the village of Zlatno.