Chotárny kopec

Chotárny kopec is a summit 906 m high in the north-eastern Javorníky, Slovakia, the second highest after Kazícka Kýčera in the Rakovská hornatina part of the range. It lies on the border of the Čadca and Kysucké Nové Mesto districts, about 6 km south of Čadca and 8 km north of Kysucké Nové Mesto; Krásno nad Kysucou is some 4 km to the east. The boundary between the lands of the town of Čadca and the villages of Dunajov and Ochodnica runs over the summit, which is the highest point of each of these municipalities. The name, meaning “boundary hill”, recalls this role.

Getting there / routes

Chotárny kopec is a crossroads of hiking trails in the Vysoké Javorníky.

• Red — the Javorníky trail (Javornícka magistrála): from Čadca railway station past Briava and on west and south-west to Sedlo pod Grapou.
• Green: also from Čadca station via the hamlet of Kýčera and on south to Nesluša; from the south from Ochodnica.
• Yellow: the easiest ascent — from Zákopčie (hamlet U Holých) to the hamlet of Blažkovci, then red. Another yellow trail leads from the hamlet of Vojty in Čadca and joins the red or green route.

Since both the red and the green trail start at Čadca railway station, the walk is easy to make into a loop: go up one and come down the other.

In winter the Beskydy–Javorníky cross-country ski trail also runs along the ridge, and in summer a marked cycle route.

What you can see from the summit

The summit is wooded, so views are limited. Better views open from clearings on the slopes just below the top and from the northern slope near the hamlet of Črchľa: from there you see the neighbouring Javorníky summits and, in good visibility, the Lesser and Greater Fatra and the Moravian-Silesian Beskids with Lysá hora.

Nature and history

The Javorníky are a range of the Outer Western Carpathians along the Slovak–Czech border between the Váh and Kysuca valleys; their highest part is the Vysoké Javorníky. Chotárny kopec belongs to their north-eastern edge above Kysuce, where the range drops to the Kysuca basin with the towns of Čadca and Krásno nad Kysucou.

Chotárny kopec lies in the south-eastern part of the Rakovská hornatina and the eastern part of the Vysoké Javorníky. Around its foot are scattered hamlets — Črchľa, Podhrady, Murčovci, Blažkovci, Vojty and others, lying within one or two kilometres of the summit. Near the Vojtovské saddle several springs rise, known as the Vojtovský spring.

Safety, season and rules

The routes are easy but mostly in forest; carry water and a map and allow for quick weather changes in the Javorníky. In winter the cross-country ski trail may cross the footpaths — do not walk on the ski track. Slovak Mountain Rescue Service (HZS): 18 300 (+421 18 300), general emergency number 112.

Photos: Hornokysučan, CC BY-SA 4.0; Hornokysučan, CC BY-SA 4.0; Hornokysučan, CC BY-SA 4.0 — Wikimedia Commons.