Along the Trail of the Slovak National Uprising Heroes: Mt. Chopok – Mt. Ďumbier and adrenalin adventures
Jasná, known mainly as the best ski resort in Slovakia has a lot to offer also in summer. Although it´s not snow-covered pistes but still enough adrenalin and entertainment. Let´s have a closer look at the tourist trail between Mt. Chopok – Mt. Ďumbier and learn that it´s possible to walk down from the mountains on foot, take a cable car and use another means of transport. Dada, Zuzka and Roman have been testing everything for us. Read how they were doing and get inspired to write your own story in Jasná.
How to get to Mt. Chopok and from where?
Our three tourists have met in the area of Záhradky in the resort of Jasná, which is one of three locations from where cableways operate to Mt. Chopok. The second one is called Biela Púť and the third one is Krupová, located on the southern side of Mt. Chopok.
Cableway tickets and why the GOPASS card is worth having
They arrived at a turnstile in Záhradky at 10:20am and started to arrange their cableway tickets immediately. Dada had a GOPASS card that she had used in winter so she had bought her ticket comfortably – online via gopass.sk and could sunbath on a bench next to the turnstiles in the meantime.
It was the first time for Zuzka and Roman in Jasná so they didn´t have any card and hoped they would buy everything until 10:30am when the next cableway trip was scheduled. They hurried to a GOPASS Point with automated ticket machines where they could register easily and become members of the GOPASS programme.
They paid 2 € less for their tickets when compared to regular ticket offices. From now on, when they decide to enjoy the mountains or a water park, they can buy their tickets comfortably at home or via their mobile phones. And they will even save money!
The registration and ticket purchasing took less than 5 minutes including hesitating whether to buy return or single tickets. Finally they realised that return tickets cost only 3 € more and were “two-way tickets”. This means they could travel to Mt. Chopok, have a look at the southern side – in the area of Krupová, take a cable car back to Mt. Chopok and then back to Záhradky. It was easy to decide – return tickets are cheaper.
The chairlift started moving at 10:30 as scheduled. Cableways operate from Záhradky, Biela Púť and Krupová to Mt. Chopok every thirty minutes – at the top and half the hour. The other way round – from Mt. Chopok down the hill to Biela pPúť, Záhradky and Krupová, they operate every quarter past and quarter to the hour. Although our tourists had forgotten to check when the last cableway trip was scheduled, they didn´t catch Miroslav, one of the cableway staff members off guard. He explained to them that the last cableway leaves Mt. Chopok at 06:00pm and if they didn´t manage it, they would have to walk down on foot.
Cableway trip and arrival on Mt. Chopok
The cableway trip was very nice. The chairlifts and cable cars offer beautiful views of nature around although there are still consequences of a wind storm after last winter visible. Nature is unpredictable, unfortunately, a sometimes it destroys also the beauty created by itself.
On the way from Priehyba up to Mt. Chopok, one can notice a Slovak rarity – stored snow which will spend the summer under a big white canvas to be used for snow making in the next winter season. Don´t you believe? Read more about it.
The trip up the hill, including changing at Priehyba took about 30 minutes. Zuzka and Roman were fascinated by Rotunda. Everything looked nice there and made a great first impression. They wanted to enjoy the view from the terrace but Dada promised them they would come back there to pick up their reward – after their hiking trip.
Trail of the Slovak National Uprising Heroes: section Mt. Chopok – Mt. Ďumbier
The tourist trail runs along the Kamenná chalet behind the summit of Mt. Chopok. It is part of the well known Trail of the Slovak National Uprising Heroes and is marked with red colour. It was not difficult to find the trail as there were more people making the same trip. The trail is well marked, though. And if you should have problems with finding it, just ask around.
Although it was Sunday and Roman had expected more people, it was not the case and after a few hundreds of metres, it seemed that Dada, Zuzka and Roman would be alone. The best part of the trip could begin – walking along the ridge.
Beautiful views, majestic mountains and silence that only tourists can enjoy. Dada who is a keen skier was admiring the view of the gullies and recalling great winter freeriding moments. The gullies look much more differently in summer, though, steeper and more dangerous.
The first part of the trip didn´t take long. The trail is well groomed and falls down moderately to the Krúpové saddle. Zuzka found it interesting to realise how many different people they met and saw on the way – parents with small children, seniors with walking sticks, runners.
The biggest surprise that the Krúpové saddle offered was a herd of chamois. They were gazing on a hillslope and looked very friendly. As if they wouldn´t mind people who gathered to make photos of them. Some tourists seem to forget that chamois are wild animals and don´t serve as a sort of decoration for us. It´s their homes that we walk into so we should always respect them and avoid disturbing them.
In the saddle, the level of the trip difficulty changes from easy to medium-difficult. The terrain gets steeper but the finish – the top of Mt. Ďumbier can be seen in the distance, which makes the walking easier. The last tourist information board says it is 20 minutes to the summit and marks the last ascent section.
The final phase is most demanding and one can see that less fit tourists need to make short breaks. They are all smiling, though, because that is the only thing you can do in the embrace of such beautiful nature – smile although you are reaching the end of your tether.
The top of Mt. Ďumbier is marked with a big wooden cross and offers a beautiful view of the whole Liptov region and the town of Brezno. Once can see the dam of Liptovský Mara very well, small scattered villages and blue-grey reliefs of surrounding mountains. Breathtaking. All three of our tourists agree that it has been worth climbing here.
Adrenalin surprise
For the way back, Dada had prepared a great adrenalin surprise for Zuzka and Roman. They returned to Mt. Chopok as fast as possible and travelled from there with a cable car to the southern side of the mountain, to the Kosodrevina station. After a small refreshment at the Kosodrevina restaurant, the biggest adrenalin adventure of the day could begin – mountain carts.
Adrenalin on wheels
Adrenalin adventures on mountain carts are available in Jasná. Those who want to experience maximum adrenalin prefer the southern side of Mt. Chopok and the track from Kosodrevina to Krupová.
How does it look like on the track?
The carts can be booked at the new Kosodrevina station on the southern side where the track begins. Roman couldn´t hide his excitement. He was smiling and couldn´t wait. The girls were more careful. They drove down more slowly for the first time but then plucked up their courage and enjoyed a fast downhill too.
The track is dusty, rocky and zigzag but this makes the mountain cart experience even better. The carts are adapted to such surface and happy passengers can be heard screaming all the way down.
One can skid along the curves and reach high speed on flat sections. Each of our three friends enjoyed themselves in their own way and agreed they would return to Mt. Chopok again and repeat the mountain cart adventure for sure.
A flawless Sunday on Mt. Chopok
All of them enjoyed the day so much that they forgot to eat. And once the adrenalin level in their blood sank, the hunger got more intense. That´s why they were looking forward to their reward – a meal and a cup of coffee at the Rotunda restaurant on Mt. Chopok.
This is the best view one can imagine while eating. They were talking about their day in the meantime so we asked them some questions:
- If you could experience this day again, what would you do differently?
Dada: I would definitely take more water because there is no refreshment on the way from Mt. Chopok to Mt Ďumbier, there is no spring where one could drink.
Zuzka: I would take better shoes. Although I did manage everything in my trainers, I have some pressure sores.
Roman: I would take some spare clothes for changing. I thought that I would not get so sweaty while walking along the ridge,. But I did. Quite a lot.
- What was the best about this trip?
Dada: The comfort. We could take a cableway everywhere so have managed much more within one day than we would if we were walking only on foot.
Zuzka: I live in Prague so the beautiful views of the mountains and valleys have been unforgettable for me.
Roman: For me, it has been the mountain carts – that was WOW!
