Čierna hora (Levoča Mountains)

Čierna hora is a 1289.4 m summit, the highest point of the Slovak Levoča Mountains (Levočské vrchy) – a flysch range of the Podhôľno-magurská region in eastern Slovakia, between the Poprad basin and Spiš. It stands about 6 km east of the village of Ihľany and 12 km south of Stará Ľubovňa in the Prešov Region; its slopes belong to the cadastres of Jakubany and Lomnička. With a prominence of about 605 m it clearly rises above the surrounding ridges.

The mountain lies in the northern part of the centre of the range, in the Levoča Highlands, at the southern end of a massive ridge that curves in a U shape from Macková (985 m) via Ihla (1282 m) and Čierna hora to Javorinka (1166 m). Ihla lies to the west, Banisko (1143 m) to the north-east and Šípková hora (1149 m) to the east. The mountain drains to the Poprad: tributaries of the Kolačkovský stream rise on the north side, tributaries of the Jakubianka on the east and south.

How to get there / routes

No marked hiking trail leads to the summit. The easiest approach is by forest roads from Ihľany. Slovak sources also suggest an ascent from Nižné Ružbachy on the red trail, branching off via Ihla – the last section is unmarked, so a map or navigation is needed. Sources give no official walking times.

What you can see from the summit

Much of the mountain is treeless, so the views are unusually wide for the Levoča Mountains. The whole ridge as far as Ihla looks over the surrounding summits of the range, and above all over the Belianske and part of the High Tatras. The Kráľova hoľa Tatras, the Volovské vrchy, Branisko and even Babia hora are also well visible.

Nature and history

The Levoča Mountains are built of sandstones, shales, conglomerates and breccias. The ridges are covered by compact spruce forests mixed with fir, while beech-oak forests grow on the warm southern slopes. The range lies in the rain shadow of the Tatras, so it gets less precipitation than the neighbouring mountains.

For more than half a century the area was closed: until the end of 2005 the summit lay inside the Javorina military training area, set up in 1952 when several villages were forcibly evacuated. The Javorina military district itself was abolished on 1 January 2011, and the mountains opened up again to hikers and cyclists. In summer 2026 the Slovak defence minister confirmed a plan to re-establish a training area here; according to reports, the ministry hopes to reach agreements with landowners over the next few years.

Safety, season and rules

With no waymarks and dense forest, navigation is harder here than on popular Slovak routes, so carry an offline map. There are drinking-water springs near the summit – the "Pod Ihlou" well and the Polomka well (about 2 km away) – and a shelter, but it is better to carry water. Before you go, check whether any new restrictions linked to the military plans apply in the Levoča Mountains. In the Slovak mountains help comes from the Mountain Rescue Service HZS: 18 300 (+421 18 300) or 112.

Interesting facts

• Čierna hora is the highest summit of the Levoča Mountains, yet it has almost no tourist infrastructure.
• Because of the training area, for decades the summit was known mainly from military maps.

Photos: Jerzy Opioła, CC BY-SA 4.0; Jerzy Opioła, CC BY-SA 4.0; Jerzy Opioła, CC BY-SA 4.0; Dusan Bajus, CC BY 3.0 — Wikimedia Commons.