Chmeľová

Chmeľová is a 925 m summit, the second highest in the White Carpathians (Biele Karpaty) after Veľká Javorina (970 m). It rises above the village of Vršatské Podhradie, about 12 km north of the town of Dubnica nad Váhom, in the northern part of the range – the Vršatské bradlá (Vysoké Vršatce) section. The hill lies in the Trenčín Region, Ilava District, in the cadastres of Vršatské Podhradie and Červený Kameň. The nearest villages are Vršatské Podhradie (about 1 km) and Červený Kameň (2.5 km), a little further Krivoklát and Mikušovce. The summit's prominence is about 395 m, making Chmeľová a landmark of the wide surroundings.

The mountain belongs to a distinctive rock massif of the Pieniny Klippen Belt, where limestone blocks ("bradlá") jut out above soft flysch slopes. To the east a saddle separates it from the limestone massif of Javorník (898 m), to the north is Zvonová hora (722 m), to the west Biely vrch (819 m), and to the south the Vršatec castle cliff with the ruins of Vršatec Castle.

How to get there / routes

• Yellow trail via the Chmeľová junction: from the south from the Vršatec junction near Vršatské Podhradie (from the car park by the chalet) or from the north-east from Červený Kameň; the last section to the viewpoint follows a short yellow spur.
• Blue trail – from Červený Kameň via Vršatské Podhradie; at the Brezová, kaplnka junction it links to the main ridge trail of the White Carpathians.

A walk to Chmeľová is easy to combine with a visit to the ruins of Vršatec Castle, which stand right below the hill.

What you can see from the top

Chmeľová is mostly forested, but small open spots near the top give wide views. Closest, right below, is the Vršatec castle cliff with the ruins, the neighbouring peaks of the White Carpathians and the Váh valley. In good visibility you can see the landmarks of the Považský Inovec, Vtáčnik, the Strážov Mountains and the Javorníky; the Moravian-Silesian Beskids, the Lesser Fatra and Tribeč often appear on the horizon, and rarely even the Hrubý Jeseník in the Czech Republic.

Nature and history

Rock and forest communities of both warmth-loving and mountain plants and animals have survived on the Chmeľová massif. The hill stands next to the Vršatské bradlá nature reserve, declared in 1970 to protect the impressive limestone massif of the White Carpathian Klippen Belt; the whole area lies in the White Carpathians Protected Landscape Area (CHKO Biele Karpaty) and the Natura 2000 site "Vršatské bradlá". Chmeľová belongs to the Váh basin: the western and northern parts of the massif drain via tributaries of the Tovarský potok to the Lednica, the south-western part via the Krivoklátsky potok.

Safety, season and rules

Near the rocks and viewpoints stay on marked paths and away from the cliffs. In the nature reserve leaving the trails, picking plants and lighting fires are forbidden. In winter the paths can be icy. In Slovakia the Mountain Rescue Service (HZS) operates: 18 300 (+421 18 300); the general emergency number is 112.

Interesting facts

• Chmeľová is the second-highest peak of the White Carpathians, lower only than Veľká Javorina.
• On rare clear days the Czech Hrubý Jeseník is visible from the top.
• The ruins of Vršatec Castle stand on a limestone cliff below the hill.

Photos: Zuzana Stozicka, CC BY-SA 4.0; Pistal, CC BY-SA 4.0; Peter Mikšík, CC BY-SA 4.0 — Wikimedia Commons.