The most beautiful natural sites to discover Central Slovakia

From the 16th to the 19th century, Banská Štiavnica developed a revolutionary system: a hydrographic network of 60 artificial lakes dug to pump water from mines and run machinery. Today, this system is a World Heritage Site and 23 lakes are frequented by tourists in summer for walks and swimming. The lake Počúvadlo is the largest of them. A beautiful hike links the lake Počúvadlo to Mount Sitno for 3 km, about 2 hours of walking.

List of proposed accommodation around the lake. Chata Dorotka, Chata Hron, Chata Katka, Chata Lodiar, Chata West, Hotel Topky, Koliba Veronika, Penzión Anna, Penzión Omad, Penzión pod Sitnom, Terasa u Blaškov.

The Brestová Cave is the first cave in the Orava region that is open to the public. It is about 1,450 m long and only 217 m open (round trip), which means a visit of 434 m. It contains an underground river and nine species of bats. The visit lasts about 50 minutes and the temperature inside varies between 4.9°C and 5.4°C. For safety reasons, entry is limited to groups of no more than 15 people.

One of the only accessible mines in the Liptov region, in which one can apprehend the hard work of miners in the hope of finding gold. A visit you will remember for a long time, in these galleries built over decades thanks to the hard work of man. A headlamp will be given to each visitor before entering, no special clothing or shoes are required. By car, a paid parking is available 200 m from the site.

The entrance is located on the northwestern slope of Smrekovice. It is not the best known cave in the country, but it is one of the oldest in the region. Discovered in 1720, it was formed by erosion and corrosion of an underground stream. In a beautiful valley, the visit is interesting even if the guides do not speak (or little) English. The temperature inside the cave is always stable, around 6°C, so bring a little wool, especially in summer.

The Demänovská Ice Cave is one of the oldest known caves in Europe. This cave is particularly remarkable for its surreal ice formations that were formed as a result of a landslide about five hundred years ago. The air cooled and the waterfalls and lakes gradually froze. The visit lasts about 45 minutes for a circuit of 650 meters. Bring a good sweater, the temperature constantly oscillates between 0 °C and 3 °C.