The sunny side of Veľký Choč

Itinerary

• From Valaská Dubová (Oláhdubova) we follow the K trail to the Stredná Poľana clearing.
• From the clearing we climb the Z trail to the Veľký Choč summit. (In winter from the clearing go up-left following the black marked, then (right) the P marked winter hiking trail (zimná trasa) to the summit.)
• From the summit we descend on the P trail.
• On the flattening slope, take the left winter trail (zimná trasa) black marked paths, after a few meters reach the Stredná Poľana meadow.
• From the meadow, take the familiar K trail to reach the village.

Detailed description of the route

From dark spruce forest to sunny clearing

The Hungarian name of Valaská Dubová is Oláhdubova, preserving the memory of its founders, Romanian shepherds who came from the Balkans. Its attraction is the lower pub (also a restaurant), welcoming guests with a rustic outlaw decoration – according to legend, the famous Slovak robber leader Juraj Jánošík was captured in the village’s cséh (a kind of gallows). Although the pub named after the outlaw carries his name, the original building burned down in 1933 together with much of the village. Above the houses, we start our hike on the K trail toward a mountainside showing dark spruce forest and rugged crags. Leaving the street, we cross a meadow; to the right, across the creek, hides a shelter with a fireplace under the trees. The path ends and we start ascending steeply on a stony trail – to the left, near a spring, is another rest area, the last for a while. The forest’s density is broken up by the trail lapping over thick debris tongues, above which the origin, the robust jagged cliff, shows itself – with pine trees guarding on ledges. The limestone formation at one point blocks our way; behind the small stone gate, we climb higher through lush spruce forest. The steep, exhausting, root-trapped trail emerges from a moist bed and dry creek and leads to the huge, pine-studded clearing Stredná Poľana (“Middle Meadow”), which lies on a ridge junction plateau and finally reveals the rocky, pine-covered rim of Veľký Choč to the northeast.

This is the scenic highlight of the route, additionally offering a suitable nomadic accommodation: the so-called Hotel Choč, a former shepherds’ lodging providing authentic overnight stay (the meadow’s creation was due to forest logging and former mountain pastoralism). Inside are rooms lined with carpets, well insulated considering the conditions, with bunks, but sleeping in the attic is also possible. Not far south, another meadow featured the Hviezdoslav’s refuge house from 1924, named after the Slovak writer-poet born nearby, until it was destroyed by German soldiers fighting partisans in 1944. Since then, no new tourist house has been built in the mountain range, making the rustic wooden hut very popular.

In the meadow lives the heat-loving European adder hunting mainly insects and small mammals, but the surrounding large and strictly protected forest is also a refuge for sensitive large predators. The brown bear mainly roams in gentler, sometimes open, abundant “forest fruit platter” areas like this clearing. It must share its meals with the very rare Western Capercaillie, seeking undisturbed places. Europe’s largest cat, the “spirit of the Carpathians”, the lynx, prefers rugged, rocky terrains, as do the large golden eagles. The Choč massif is an important natural corridor between the vast, little disturbed forests of the Fatra region and the Tatra region.

At the top of Veľký Choč

We traverse the Stredná Poľana clearing on the Z trail, which bends among pines and heads to the summit via a steep, sometimes rocky path – this is already the easier part of the route. The sometimes unpleasantly rocky, slippery trail after rain offers views back of the Great Fatra mountain ridges lined up one after another before penetrating some dwarf pines and reaching the rocky parts of Veľký Choč. Standing directly about 4-500 meters above dizzying depths, we can observe the entire structure of the range, and from the 1608 m peak a huge section of Slovakia spreads below, as if standing on the roof of the country, such is the wide and overwhelming panorama.

All the Northwestern Carpathians' high mountain ranges show themselves: eastward, the Liptov Hills gather clouds, behind them the Kriván massif of the High Tatras pops out, to the south the sculpted silhouette of the Gyömbér peak from the Low Tatras massif appears. Turning east, the image is the busiest, showing the dense mountains of the Great Fatra, nearby the high grassy ridges of the Small Fatra, and the notable rocky crown of the Great Rozsutec. To the north, the regular cone of Babia Hora dominates the gentler hills of the Beskids. A metal disc with directions and labels helps identify these characteristic points.

The forest below is marked by large clearcuts boards and narrow swaths exploiting forestry practices. These strips often appear in Slovakia: the method partly or wholly restores natural forests, thus the cut strip width may not exceed tree height (so seeds can cover the entire strip surface). Compared to classic clearcuts, the remaining forest’s climate is less altered, the habitat does not disappear entirely, and as one strip grows, the previously left one is cut – thus the total stand eventually shows a more varied age structure than a fully cut block. Looking east, the Choč Mountains’ pure spruce forests are largely replaced by more resistant and more biodiverse mixed forests. However, the summit block and its environment enjoy reserve protection, covered by primeval, undisturbed woods extending widely.

The thrills of the winter trail

The summit’s strict ridges consist of dolomite rock, patchily preserved on the limestone mantle sprawling lower. Descending, we cross dwarf pine forest: this time on the P marked winter trail (“Zimná trasa”). (Pay attention to going backward on the P trail; otherwise, you end up on the mountain’s other side.) The trail follows a rocky ridge, with tall poles emerging above winter snow indicating the correct direction, and chains on both sides providing support. These are rarely needed in snow-free periods. Among the trees then follows an even more beautiful section: pine groves and meadows opening magnificent views over the surrounding mountains. To the left, the main ridge and foothills of the Low Tatras and the vivid terrain of the Great Fatra are visible; opposite stretches the high, coherent grassy ridges of the Small Fatra. The jagged rocks of Great Rozsutec also stand out. To the right, the Beskids’ ridges fade in mist, and the nearby ski slopes of the Minčol peak in the Árvai-Magura are identifiable. When the pine forest closes in, at a junction turn left on the maps’ black, actually incomplete, markings back to the Stredná Poľana clearing. From there, following the now familiar K trail (to the right), we reach Valaská Dubová.