Along the ridge of Malá fatra to Poludňový Grúň, Stoh or to Zázrivá

Description: This whole-day trip along the ridge starts in Vrátna dolina valley and continues under the cable-way to Snilovské saddle, through Chleb, Hromové, Poludňový Grúň, Stoh, Medziholie to Zázrivá. It is perhaps the most popular ridge trail with beautiful views, but it is recommended for well-trained hikers only. You can make the trip easier by getting to Snilovské Saddle by cable-way. It will spare you almost 2 hours of time and 774 altitude metres along the green trail. And you do not have to go as far as to Zázrivá, of course. We recommend three variations:

1/ Total time from Snilovské saddle to Poludňový Grúň and to Cottage Vrátna: 3:10 h
Total ascent: 243 m / 1,017 m descent!
The descent from Poludňový Grúň to the Cottage at Grúň (Chata na Grúni) is rather steep and you will conquer around 500 altitude metres in 45 minutes. If you have not been using your hiking sticks yet, here they may come very handy. If it has been raining few days before your trip, please be very careful as the terrain will be slippery. Follow the yellow mark that will take you to the cottage, where you can take a well-deserved rest. You can buy good Slovak cuisine or a snack in buffet. Then continue along the yellow mark to Cottage Vrátna (Chata Vrátna). If you have enough energy, you can walk to the symbolic cemetery, which is only 10 minutes far from the Cottage Vrátna along the green trail.

2/ Total time from Snilovské saddle through
Stoh and Medziholie to Štefanová: 5:00 h
Total ascent: 620 m / 1,511 m descent!
The climb to Stoh: take the red trail from Poludňový Grúň to Stohové saddle. The trail descends for a while but then a steep ascent continues. It goes along a wide ridge to the peak of Stoh that resembles a huge heap of hay, as many tourists say. The trail goes along the red mark and lasts 1:15 hour. A descent to Medziholie saddle is 30 minutes shorter, but very steep and really exhausting especially for your knees. There are always many people in the saddle preparing for a climb to Veľký Rozsutec or having a rest after conquering the peak, or the hikers on their way to Stoh. Everybody would appreciate a cottage offering refreshment and overnight lodging for tourists that unfortunately does not stand there anymore. If it is afternoon already or you feel exhausted, we recommend descending by the green trail through Šlahorka to Štefanová. It should not take you longer than 1.5 hours.

3/ Total time from Snilovské saddle through Stoh and Medziholie to Biela – crossroad: 5:25 h
Total ascent: 620 m / 1,584 m descent!
The trip along the ridge to Zázrivá: this trip and the previous trip are only recommended to well-trained hikers who enjoy conquering the mountain ridges. The trail from Poludňový Grúň to Medziholie is described in variant 2. From Medziholie you switch to the yellow trail and after 5 minutes you get to the guidepost “Pod Rozsutcom”. Now you can choose between the yellow trail and the green trail. The green mark will take you to a forest and after a 1.5 hour hike, you arrive to village Biela. After 20 minutes along an asphalt road you arrive at main road No. 583 in Biela – Rázcestie. Continue to Zázrivá – Petrová, to the crossroad with the road to Terchová. This road is unfortunately very busy, so please take care. The bus connection between the villages is rather poor, as they lie in different districts. You arrive to Terchová after a 2.5 hour hike along the busy main road, or, if you are lucky enough, you can try hitch-hiking. The yellow mark from the guidepost “Pod Rozsutcom” goes through a forest to Saddle Príslop above Biela and it also lasts for 1.5 hours. Then you continue for about half an hour through meadows and you arrive to Zázrivá – Petrová to log houses at “Jánošíkov dvor” with a restaurant. If you do not arrive late in the evening, you can have a tasty serving of the Slovak traditional dish – “halušky” – potato dumplings with “bryndza” sheep cheese. Then you can return to Terchová along the main road, but this variant should take half an hour less.

a/ Variant that starts in Štefanová
If you are accommodated in Štefanová or if you do not mind a steep climb, you can start this trip in Štefanová. This trail is really exhausting, since the climb to Stoh lasts 3 hours, during which you conquer 1,000 altitude metres on foot. From Stoh you will walk for 1:15 hour to Poludňový Grúň. If you are exhausted or if the weather starts deteriorating, you can end your trip by a 45 min. descent to Cottage at Grúň (Chata na Grúni) – see the variant No. 1. From the cottage you can either descend down the yellow-marked trail to Cottage Vrátna or you can follow the blue mark to Štefanová. In 45 minutes you will be at the place, where you began the trip.

b/ We believe that some of you might not want to miss out the ridge. If you decide so, stay at the red trail and you will get to Snilovské saddle through Steny, Hromové and Chleb. This easy ridge trail should not take more than 1:20 hour. You can take the cableway to get down to Cottage Vrátna, if you catch it. But you can also walk down the hill on feet. It should take you approximately one hour. During the first metres of the descent you can enjoy nice views of the ridge that you have just conquered. From the cableway station you can get to your accommodation facility by professional scooter, by tourist train or by bus.