Liptów and Orawa 2/2

Rodzaj nawierzchni:
asfaltowe ścieżki rowerowe
drogi publiczne

Rodzaj roweru:
SPD - trasy odpowiednie dla każdego rodzaju roweru, tzn. szosowego, crossowego i górskiego/MTB
TRK - trasy odpowiednie dla roweru crossowego i górskiego/MTB

Welcome to the sunny side of Tatras! Poprad, Váh, and Orava are the three rivers, which play an important role in three neighbouring lands: Spiš, Liptov, and Orava. The second part of this two-day trip is great for the landscape hunters - the area of Liptovská Mara, later, still undiscovered corners of the Veľký Choč ridge and Orava valley; you cannot miss the picturesque monuments as well, such as the remains of the church on the lakeside or the majestic Orava Castle.

Total length: 75.1 kmTotal ascent: 790 mRiding time (without breaks): 4 h 48 minRequired experience: ModerateNecessary physical fitness: highStart and end: Liptovský Mikuláš, Oravský PodzámokAccess: train (Liptovský Mikuláš, Oravský Podzámok), car
Profile, road surface, types of roads: click here
Notes:the trail is a part of a two-day trip, or a one-day excursion if you take a train back to the starting pointHelmets required in Slovakia not suitable for kids riding on the bikesmost of the route on the roads with motor traffic you can check the train timetable at www.slovakrail.sk
Main attractions of the route:
Liptovský Mikuláš: Liptovský Saint Nicholas. A very important city in Slovakian history, tempting us with a beautiful lake and geothermal springs.Views from Beňušovce: far from busy roads, amazing views over the Liptovská Kotlina, with the lake at the feet and Low Tatras on the horizon.Liptovská Mara: the Slovakian cousin of Lago di Garda and the church ruins just above the sheet of water - the only souvenir from the inundated villages that disappeared underwater.Sestrčská Dolina: a deep valley, almost a gorge, crossing the Veľký Choč range. Peace, greenery, and us - a very pleasant experience. Wooden church in Leštiny: wooden architecture beauty spot, 17th-century evangelical church with beautiful rich polychrome paintings. UNESCO listed.Dolný Kubín: a small town with great historical importance in Slovakia. One of the crucial places of the period of the awakening of national awareness (19th century).Pucov and Pribiš area: sometimes it’s good to wander off the beaten track and see the typical Orava villages.Orava Castle: one of the symbols of Slovakia, a castle of centuries-old history, built boldly high on the rocks over the Orava river valley.
Description:
From Mikuláš, we go west, on the main road which soon leads us over the shores of Liptovská Mara. We get off the road in Trnovec, where leaving the village, we get on the steep and high slopes of Pod Hájom. The panoramic views allow you to cherish the Low Tatras and the lake at the foothills, as well as the Veľký Choč ridge in all its glory. On a long downhill ride, we get back to the lake and go further, for around 4.5 km, to Bobrovník, where we turn to the local road and reach the lake shores of Liptovská Mara.
A place of remarkable charm. The tower is a relic of a formerly major church in Liptovská Maria. As in the case of other villages here, the name stems from the patron’s name of the local church. Maria, together with a dozen other villages, disappeared under the waters of the artificial lake, nowadays the biggest (however, not the most extensive) lake in Slovakia.
From Mara, we continue our trip back north, so as to, leaving Bukovina, get to the Sestrčská Dolina. The road, initially of quite poor quality, gets much more comfortable; riding on a narrow forest path is a sheer pleasure. Sestrčská Dolina, as well as the parallel ones: Lúčanská, Prosiecká or Kvačianská, cut through the Veľký Choč ridge all the way from the north to the south, creating somewhat rocky islands, divided by the incredible rocky gorges.
The last part, a very steep one, gets us between the streets of Malatiná. It’s an attractive area, still not widely known, but incredibly picturesque one. Around Malatiná, you will see some flocks of sheep or cowherds, as the area is still mainly traditionally rural. Orava welcomes us with such landscapes.
Our effort of the last roads uphill (almost 300 m of height difference) is rewarded by a long, over 13 km downhill road, all the way to Dolný Kubín. It is worth stopping by in Leštiny, to visit an old wooden 17th-century protestant church (UNESCO listed) or just to see the renovated mansion in Vyšný Kubín.
We reach Dolný Kubín, a city equally important to Liptovský Mikuláš when it comes to Slovakian independence, related to the poet Pavol Országh Hviezdoslav. Through a small, but attractive old town, we get to the banks of Orava, which we cross through a wooden bridge.
The next 8 km is a ride along the river, on a right or left bank, all the way to Medzibrod, from where we swerve once again to the idyllic areas, this time of the villages Pucov and Pribiš.
The last descent today, through an interesting and narrow valley, gets us back to Orava, just at the foothills of Orava Castle. It is one of the symbols of Slovakia, a great tourist attraction; from here, the whole Orava area was formerly managed. A tall silhouette of the castle rises 112 metres above the bottom of the valley. We recommend spending additional 2-3 hours visiting the Castle Museum and the newly opened Peatland Museum.
The trail ends at the railway station, from where we can go back to Mikuláš, Poprad, or Trstená (going the other direction).