Right in the heart of Europe, Slovakia is a land of castles and mountains, occasionally punctuated by industrial sprawl. More than a quarter-century after Czechoslovakia’s break-up, Slovakia has emerged as a self-assured, independent nation. Capital city Bratislava draws visitors to its resplendent old town and tankard-clanking drinking culture. But Slovakia shines brightest for lovers of the outdoors. Walking trails in the High Tatras wend through landscapes of unearthly beauty, with mirror-still glacier lakes backed by 2000m peaks.
We’ve got some young visitor in our truck for a few days, so we have changed our itinerary to relax on the banks of Liptovská Mara dam in northern Slovakia, on the Váh river near Liptovský Mikuláš. The dam was built to prevent floods between the years 1965-1975 covering an area of 22 sq...
The open-air museum of Kysuce Village (entrance 5 EUR) is located near the village Nová Bystrica in the beautiful countryside surrounding of protected area Kysuce, in the mountains Kysucká Highlands. One of the main reasons for village creation was the construction of a new water...
On the left bank of the Váh river, close to Žilina, we found the Strečno Castle on top of the limestone rock (entrance 6 EUR). In the past, it was the safest fort in the Považie region. We have parked below the castle close to the Pension Irenka, where drinks and food were served by the...
We spent the whole afternoon in The Museum of the Slovak Village. It is the largest ethnographic open-air exposition in Slovakia (entrance 4 EUR). The museum, located in Jahodnícke Háje in the southeastern part of the town of Martin, has been built by the Slovak National Museum in Martin...
We made overnight in the typical village surrounded by the mountains Strážovské Vrchy and Malá Fatra in the southern part of the valley Rajecká Dolina. The unique and characteristic element of log houses in Čičmany are their exteriors ornamented in a geometrical pattern. The authors of...
The gem of Bojnice is the ”fairy-tale” Bojnice Castle, one of the most visited and most beautiful castles in Slovakia (entrance 13 EUR, parking 5 EUR). The Castle stands on a large travertine monticule on the site of a medieval castle from the 11th century. In the past, the most famous...
We have visited one of the most beautiful and largest castles in Slovakia, located in the northern Orava region. The Orava Castle (entrance 7 EUR, parking 5 EUR), built on a rock above the river Orava in Oravský Podzámok like an “eagle nest” was built in the place of an older wooden...
We spent two days in The National Park of Malá Fatra. It is situated in the westernmost Slovak high mountains Malá Fatra. The mountain is covered mainly with mixed beech forests, at higher elevations with fir and spruce. Pinewoods and meadows occur at higher altitudes. About 83% of the...
We have arrived in the late afternoon at Slovenský Ráj National Park. It is one of the nine national parks in Slovakia, situated in East Slovakia. The National Park protects the area of the Slovenský Ráj mountain range, which is located in the north of the Slovenské Rudohorie Mountains...
After taking diesel at Slovnaft (1,09 EUR), we drove to a dam and lake in eastern Slovakia – Zemplínska šírava (sometimes called the “Slovak sea”). The dam was built in 1961–1965, it covers an area of 33 km2 and has an average depth of 9,5 meters, with a maximum depth of...