The sentinel bastion of the Árva and Liptov border, Šíp

Itinerary

• From Stankovany railway station, we initially follow the Z marking along the riverbank to the Podšíp meadow.
• In the Podšíp meadow, behind the shepherds' lodges, we change to the S marking, which goes over the Šíp summit, then turns right at the Žaškovské sedlo saddle, leading back to the starting point.

Detailed description of the route

Beyond the Váh, over time

The Váh (Váh) river valley, with the railway stop in the village of Stankovany, is an excellent starting point, as the settlement blends into the landscape formed by jagged limestone and dolomite hills. The pointed cliffs act like a screen following the Váh, which we can glimpse by following the Z marking starting from the street next to the pub. Along the northern edge of the Veľká Fatra, the river only allowed smaller villages to develop in the bends and valley mouths; today, however, the area suffers almost urban noise pollution due to the railway main line and the inconveniently busy road (specifically the currently missing motorway tunnel).

Walking along the Váh, one can admire some typical Liptov farmsteads, with long, narrow wooden houses closely lined up. As the posted information board states (in Slovak), the pine-built houses were insulated with moss, their floors were long made of rammed clay, the inner walls were also coated with clay and painted with lime. The roof was covered with split wooden shingles until the 1970s - which was also an important economic product of Liptov, with shingles once transported by rafts from the mountains. The houses had no chimneys; the smoke from the fireplace rose to the attic and then slowly escaped through small holes. And although Maria Theresa made chimneys mandatory in the 18th century for fire safety, their construction was consistently omitted. Few old houses remain, but those that do immediately stand out from their surroundings.

Following the street, across the valley, the majestic, alpine ridge of Malá Fatra emerges from a vast forest, while on the right, behind the roofs, our destination, the rocky ridge of Zadný Šíp, beckons. The path leads out of the village and turns towards the mountain - first passing under the railway line, then briefly following the tracks to the left. Finally, the marking leads into the forest, ascending along a dense, beech-dominated mixed forest trail. After a spring, we cross a transport road on an unpleasantly steep path passing through a clear-cut area with young regrowth. From the foliage, there is a view over the Váh valley winding under the mountains.

The slope somewhat softens as pines appear, and further on from the edge of a logged area we can enjoy the enchanting view of the Malá Fatra massif. But one of the most beautiful points of our hike is not far now: the path soon leads to the clearing of Podšíp (literally about "foot of Šíp"), a settlement meadow. The unfolding panorama is picturesque, a true Liptov landscape: opposite us, the Veľký Rozsutec rises towards the sky on the edge of the Malá Fatra mountains protruding from the forest, while the surrounding mountain blocks seem to bow and separate around the imposing rocky monument. At the foot of the Šíp dolomite walls are small wooden cabins in a bucolic idyll at the forest edge. Podšíp was formerly a tiny shepherd village, and due to its size and remoteness it was simply left off some 19th-century state maps. Only about 10 families probably lived there; its harsh weekdays were left behind in the 1950s by the last permanent resident; since then it has been practically a skanzen visited by an increasing number of hikers. Among the traditional Liptov-style protected houses, a fire pit and a few benches under an old tree provide tourist infrastructure; in the summer season one may still encounter grazing sheep and shepherds. The buildings were constructed around a well according to customary practices, but the spring today needs to be searched for a few meters off the tourist path in the forest.

The siege of Árva's southern bastion

The cabins are private property and fortunately in excellent condition. Podšíp mostly exudes an exaggerated peasant-romantic painting atmosphere, especially in autumn when the mixed forest species glow in different colors. From here, we follow the S marking, which climbs behind the wooden houses. The path cuts across the rocky slope diagonally with a gentle ascent. A small memorial recalls Podšíp's former inhabitant who developed the trail. Our route eventually turns right and heads up the mountain summit through narrow gullies with merciless steepness. We emerge from the beech forest with a primeval forest atmosphere onto the rocky ridge edge: from this point, the path runs along the brink of the cliff. From below, the noisy river valley filters upward, and through the foliage, occasionally windows open to the surrounding forested mountain sea.

The gentler climb ends at the Zadný Šíp ("Back Šíp") summit, from where a literally dizzying panorama opens towards the Fatra region. The Váh glistens, but the river squeezed between the mountains can rather be traced by deep bends. To the west, the long, flat southern part of Malá Fatra rises beyond the Turiec Basin, but the sloping ridges of the "Kriváni-Fatra" towering on its northern border are also visible beneath the alpine ridge. Opposite is the vast mountain mass of Veľká Fatra carved by hundreds of valleys, connected on the left by the forest region of Nízke Tatry. The kingly view from the limestone and dolomite towers exclusively includes heavily forested mountain ranges.

From the summit begins a short but all the more exciting ridge walk to the slightly higher main peak. On the right, wind-torn, barren soil with bent trees shows the primate ruin, and a dense thicket lies to the left. Meanwhile, we again and again glance over the vast forests of Nízke Tatry and Veľká Fatra; the highest point also occasionally appears, but the most interesting part of the walk is definitely the section where a tower-ridden cliff narrows the path onto the southern, rugged slope, squeezing it between two rock bastions. The short corridor is so narrow that you literally have to squeeze through it, which is not so easy with a backpack. For the dramatic shapes and the pointed peaks of the surrounding mountains, besides the eagle's perch structure, the Váh and Árva rivers and their tributary streams are ultimately responsible: on the steep slopes sawn around by the mountains, detaching limestone and dolomite blocks left robust ridges behind. Along the way, there are several viewpoints, and looking northward from a rocky peak, the Veľký Rozsutec block peaks above the trees, while the Beskids forest region undulates in the distance.

The roller coaster ends with the conquest of the 1170 m Šíp, a final short climb, with a small clearing around the summit sign. Now the view also opens westward, allowing us to admire, besides the Fatra and Nízke Tatry snowfields, the nearby dome-shaped block of Veľký Choč, and behind it, the rugged massif of the Liptovské Tatry. Numerous rock cliffs break through the forest canopy, no matter where we look. By the way, the name of the peak probably comes from Slovak and literally means "arrow," but in pre-Trianon Hungarian literature, it is also called Síp mountain - this may have been derived from the jagged rock slabs surrounding the summit, which from below, with a little imagination, resemble a pan flute.

Green corridor across the road

Downward a relatively comfortable and only occasionally rocky path leads through splendid wilderness – which enjoys the highest reserve protection in Slovakia, so for the sake of the diverse wildlife, it is forbidden to leave the path (no matter how tempting some larger rock might be). We follow the extended ridge downward, with a rock block blocking our way at the most beautiful point. At the foot of the steep descent, we exit a pine forest cut by meadows into the Žaškovské sedlo saddle, which is our last truly eye-catching stop on the hike. The huge clearing is framed by dark pine forest, at its end rises the silhouette of Kopa watching over the other side of the Váh. In the shade of the outermost trees is a sheltered resting place, thanks to whose design one can also sleep in its attic.

This area is ecologically extremely important: the forests of the Kôš mountain range, which arc as a green corridor towards the Tatra region, meet in the Šípska Fatra massif with the two Fatras, so predators avoiding open spaces use this main migration route here. The shallow streams of the Váh or Árva rivers do not pose a serious obstacle to them, but the busy road does. (This problem will be somewhat remedied when the motorway tunnel section between Ružomberok and Turany is completed.) In any case, do not be surprised if you find bear tracks in the mud or see a large, dark shape shuffling on the (hopefully) far side of the clearing. However, this is an extremely rare case, as these animals mostly just pass through this small forest block and are typically active only after hikers have left the mountains.

The S marking turns right and leads down to the village on a forestry transport road in a pine forest. The forest only opens up when we reach the Váh valley, and following a short street walk, the conquered summit appears as we reach the railway station (next to which a pub helps to pass the time until the train arrives).