Žiarska Dolina – Medvedia Štôlňa – Žiarska Chata – An Exciting Outing for the Whole Family

North of the town of Liptovský Mikuláš, in the Western Tatras, lies the Mních National Nature Reserve. We’ll hike through this impressive natural landscape to the Chata Pod Náružím mountain hut; there are two springs where you can draw fresh water. From a scenic high-altitude trail, you can gaze far into the mountainous landscape of the Western Tatras. To the south, the view stretches over Liptovský Mikuláš—the town in the Liptov Basin—all the way to the mountains of the Low Tatras. A short hike, a breathtaking view.> Where the road forks—to the right is the Hotel Mních, and to the left begins a no-traffic zone—we park in the large parking lot01 (698 m). Just past the traffic sign indicating the no-vehicle zone, there is a beautifully situated chapel on the right edge of the forest. After visiting the chapel, we continue uphill on the paved road. We pass a bright red barrier; here, we go straight ahead toward Babky and Chata Pod Náružím. Behind a wooden house, we leave the road at a left-hand bend and take the path that continues straight ahead across meadows. Over exposed roots, the path leads steeply uphill through the forest. Where the path ends, we follow the trail continuing slightly to the left uphill toward Babky. Shortly past an old World War II partisan bunker—located 30 meters below the trail—we ignore the next right fork. After walking through a left-hand bend, however, we follow the path branching off to the right—a shortcut to the trail that winds uphill in long switchbacks. Accordingly, the path rejoins the forest road. At a covered picnic shelter, we ignore the path leading uphill to the left—we’ll come down this way on the return trip—and continue following the forest road. At a flat section of the trail, we ignore the left fork. Once again, a path branches off to the right-center, another shortcut. Crossing pastures, passing a spring, and crossing a small wooden bridge, we then reach the Chata Pod Náružím 02 hut (1,420 m). We leave the uphill trail behind the Chata at the left-hand bend and take the continuing path through a long forest clearing and meadows. We reach the Predúvratie Pass03 (1,585 m). To the north rises the striking limestone peak Sivý vrch (see Tour 28). We, however, turn around and head south on the hiking trail, climbing a short distance before descending to the Babková priehyba saddle04 (1,453 m). In the spring, the trail that follows winds through a carpet of blooming flowers. We reach the summit of Babky05 (1,566 m). Despite its modest elevation, the view is breathtaking. If you descend a few meters off-trail toward Lake Liptovská Mara (located in the Liptov Basin, in front of the Low Tatras), you’ll reach the downhill trail after just a few meters. We now follow this path steadily downhill to a covered picnic shelter, which we had already passed on the way there. From here on, we follow the familiar route back to the starting point.