Jánošíkove diery

Description: This place belongs to the biggest hiking attractions in Malá Fatra. We recommend visiting it during working days, as during weekends it is often overcrowded. Nobody would like to miss the beautiful gorges and canyons of Krivánska Malá Fatra. You can select Dolné (Lower) diery, Nové (New) diery and Horné (Upper) diery. There is an education trail in Dolné diery and this section is suitable for children, too. The other two sections are recommended for skilled hikers, as there are ladders and guidechains that you have to overcome. Therefore we offer three variants of this trail.

1/ Small circuit – Educational Trail Diery
Total time: 2:00 h
Total ascent: 185m
You should begin in Biely Potok behind hotel Diery along the blue trail (575 metres above sea level). The trail starts by a footbridge over the brook and it is definitely not the last one. There are several wooden footbridges along the trail that leads through a narrow valley. In 20 minutes you get to Ostrvné (680 metres above sea level). It is a beautiful rocky canyon formed by Dierový potok brook that flows through it. Here you should turn to yellow mark that goes through a lovely valley, by ladders, and later through a forest that offers nice views, to a sheep farm Podžiar (715 metres above sea level), where you can stop for a while after less than one hour hike. You can buy a snack in the buffet in a small log house under the trees. During hot summer days you and your children can refresh in the brook that flows through the meadow. You can return through Dolné diery or you can descend down to Štefanová, if you do not have your car parked by hotel Diery. It will take you less than half an hour to get to Štefanová, where you can rent a professional scooter to get to Terchová. That’s real fun! If you’re not an adrenaline enthusiast, you can take a tourist train or a bus.

2/ Big circuit – The Best of Jánošíkove Diery
Total time: 4:00 h
Total ascent: 625 m
This trail begins just like the small circuit until the sheep farm Podžiar (715 metres above sea level). Then you set on to Horné (upper) diery, the most beautiful part of Jánošíkove diery. The ladders and waterfalls are higher and more beautiful. Through the valley of Horné diery you get to a crossroads under Pálenica (900 metres above sea level) and you can end the circuit there. But you certainly do not want to miss another beautiful part – the valley of Tesná rizňa. Through Tesná rizňa gorge you get to Medzirozsutce saddle (1,200 metres above sea level) and then you follow the green-marked trail with beautiful views to Vrchpodžiar (745 metres above sea level). There you can decide whether to return through Dolné diery – that you did not see on your way up – to hotel Diery in Biely Potok or to Štefanová.

3/ Big circuit with an ascent to Malý Rozsutec or Veľký Rozsutec
Total time: 6:00 h
Total ascent: 768 / 985 m
This trail starts just like the big circuit up to sheep farm Podžiar (715 metres above sea level), while you can decide to go through Nové diery or through Dolné diery, as they are both on your way to sheep farm Podžiar. Then you continue through Horné diery and the unforgettable scenery of nine waterfalls that you can only overcome by ladders and ferratas. In Medzirozsutce saddle, you can decide which peak to conquer. Do not let the name Malý (Small) Rozsutec mislead you. The climb to Malý Rozsutec is as difficult as to Veľký (Big) Rozsutec. From Malý Rozsutec (1,344 metres above sea level) you should return along the beautiful green trail through a forest settlement Podrozsutcom directly to Biely Potok, to hotel Diery, where you can enjoy a well-deserved beer or the exquisite local cuisine in the stylish Koliba restaurant. From Veľký Rozsutec (1,610 metres above sea level) you can either return by the same trail to Medzirozsutce saddle and then you can descend as from the big circuit, or you can descend through Medziholie and Šlahorka directly to Štefanová.

* All the trails can be started from the car park in Štefanová. You should start with yellow of green trail. Both of them take you to Vrchpodžiar saddle after approximately 25-minute ascent. In another 5 minutes you arrive to Podžiar (715 metres above sea level). Then follow the guideposts and descriptions of the previous variants.
* The section Ostrvné – Podžiar – along the yellow trail (Nové diery) is only one way trail for the sake of safety and comfort of all hikers.
* Veľký Rozsutec (section Medzirozsutce – Veľký Rozsutec – Medziholie saddle) is CLOSED from 1st March to 15th June for nature protection reasons