Malá Fatra, Orava and the Roháče — gorges, castles and log cottages

From Prague the route runs along the motorway past Brno, across the border at Lanžhot and through Trenčín to Žilina — in a motorhome it is one comfortable day behind the wheel. The last stretch into the mountains already follows ordinary roads through the Varínka valley, so leave yourself a margin and arrive at the campsite in daylight. For the evening, a walk through Terchová, the birthplace of Juraj Jánošík, and a shop for the days ahead are enough.

The gorges of the Hlboký potok stream are the main reason people come to Malá Fatra: narrow ravines with waterfalls, where you climb steel ladders and hold on to chains. The circuit can be started from Biely Potok or from the hamlet of Štefanová, and some of the ladders are over ten metres long — with smaller children choose only the lower section. After heavy rain, sections are closed; you will find the current status on the website of the Malá Fatra National Park Administration. Set out into the gorges early in the morning, in summer queues build up on the ladders.

The gondola from Vrátna carries you up to Snilovské sedlo right below the main ridge and saves you the steepest climb; in season it runs daily from half past eight until six. At the top you can walk out to Veľký Kriváň or to Chleb and come back down the same way to the cable car. The whole ridge lies above the tree line, so keep an eye on the forecast and on afternoon storms. On the way down the valley you drive through Tiesňavy, a rock gate with dolomite towers above the road.

In the morning head for Strečno Castle, which stands on a rock above a bend of the Váh and, from April to September, is open daily from nine to five with a lunch break. Below the walls it also includes the wooden medieval settlement of Paseka, with cottages under thatched roofs. In the afternoon move on to Orava, where Orava Castle awaits you on a cliff above the river — the tour climbs stairs through several storeys all the way up to the upper castle. Tickets are sold only at the ticket office below the walls; once inside the grounds you can no longer buy them.

The Orava Village Museum in Zuberec-Brestová has gathered more than fifty buildings of folk architecture, including a wooden Gothic church with a working Baroque organ. In June and over the summer holidays it is open daily, in September it is closed on Mondays, and a lunch break applies all year round. In the afternoon continue into Roháčska dolina: an easy path from Zverovka leads to the site of the former Ťatliakova chata hut and opens up a view into the head of the valley. If you would rather have the mountains than the open-air museum, set out from Zverovka first thing in the morning and climb all the way to the Roháčske plesá lakes — the ascent and descent take up most of the day, so the two do not fit into a single day.

The last day belongs to the journey home. From Orava you drop back down to the motorway at Žilina and from there follow the same route as at the beginning of the week. If you set off right after breakfast, you will be in Prague in the afternoon.