Donovaly - Kečka - Kozí chrbát - Korytnica - Donovaly

The route starts in the center of Donovaly near the Infocenter. We cross safely to the opposite side of the state road over a wooden footbridge right by the Infocenter and continue along an asphalt road bordering the left side of the ski slope towards Baník hill. Here, beautiful views open up on both sides – towards Donovaly, but also across Pavlove lúky to the ridge of the Great Fatra and Kremnica Mountains. The panoramic view continues to the Štiavnica Mountains and southwards to the Javorie range.

After a while, we arrive at the settlement Polianka, one of several original settlements that merged to form the village of Donovaly. The asphalt road ends in the settlement, and we continue climbing into the forest along a gravel and stone road. We face the first and at the same time the only major climb on the forest road. The path continues along a short ridge, alternating between shallow climbs and descents to the first peak by the Barania hlava nature reserve, which we pass on the right side.

Next is a short and pleasant descent to the Sedlo pod Kečkou saddle. At the saddle, you can turn off the red tourist trail onto the forest road Škaredý jarok, which in winter serves as a cross-country skiing and ski mountaineering connection trail. In summer, there is very lush vegetation here, making it quite difficult to pass with a bicycle. We recommend continuing on the red trail even though it means climbing a rather unpleasant rocky path to the Kečka summit.

On the ridge, we join the red tourist trail - the SNP Heroes' Trail, and start enjoying beautiful views to the north, where you can see the entire Donovaly with the hills Malý Zvolen, Nová hoľa, Zvolen, Veľký Choč in Liptov, and all the way to the ridge of the Low Tatras - Chochuľa and Prašivá.

To the south, you see the Poľana Mountains, Javorie, and Štiavnica Mountains. The views from the ridge are a reward for the climbed elevation meters and are simply breathtaking. The grassy ridge continues towards Kozí chrbát.

At the Hadľanka crossroads below Kozí chrbát, turn left along the contour line and bypass the peak. A pleasant forest and meadow path brings us to the Hiadeľ saddle.

From Hiadeľ saddle, we continue along the marked cycle path to Korytnica through the Sedlo pod Babou saddle and then continue on the asphalt road towards Donovaly.

We use the state road from Ružomberok to Banská Bystrica only briefly. About 500 meters into the ride, we turn right into the valley leading to the Magura settlement in Donovaly and continue along the lower cable car station to Nová hoľa and back to the village center, where we started the route.