Drienok

Drienok (formerly Drieňok) is a 1268 m limestone and dolomite summit in the south-western part of the Slovak Veľká Fatra. It stands about 6 km east of the spa town of Turčianske Teplice, on the boundary of Martin and Turčianske Teplice districts in the Žilina Region, and reaches into the lands of Blatnica and Mošovce. The mountain has a typical pyramid shape: it rises steeply above the Turiec valley right at the edge of the range, so it is easy to recognise from any direction and visible from most of Upper Turiec.

Drienok lies in the rockiest part of the mountains, the Bralná ("Rocky") Fatra. It is the highest point of the ridge that runs south-east from Blatnica and forms the southern edge of the Blatnická dolina. The ridge leaves the main ridge of the Veľká Fatra at Krížna and runs via Kráľova skala (1377 m), Smrekov (1441 m) and Veľký Rakytov before dropping to the shallow Sedlo za Drienkom saddle (1003 m) just below Drienok. Its northern neighbours are Ostrá (1263 m) and Chládkové úplazy (1228 m), to the east lies Haľamova kopa (1344 m) and to the south-east Veľký (1142 m) and Malý Rakytov (1194 m). The northern slopes drain to the Blatnický stream, the southern ones via the Rakša stream to the Turiec river.

How to get there / routes

A blue trail – a short spur from the saddle below Drienok – leads to the summit. Marked paths reach the saddle from several villages:

• from Rakša, below the southern side of the mountain on the Rakša stream;
• from Mošovce;
• from Čremošné;
• from Blatnica, at the mouth of the Blatnická dolina.

The sources give no official walking times, so check a Veľká Fatra hiking map before you set off.

What you can see from the top

The partly rocky summit with small mountain meadows offers excellent views from its open spots. A small platform on the summit rock gives a long view west over the upper Turiec basin and the Turiec slopes of the Veľká Fatra. You can see much of the Veľká Fatra and, to the south, the Kremnica Mountains, then the Žiar range, Vtáčnik, the Strážov Mountains and the Malá Fatra; in good visibility even Kubínska hoľa, Veľký Choč and Poľana.

Nature and history

The mountain is built mostly of limestone, partly of Middle Triassic dolomite. Its steep, deeply dissected slopes are studded with rock towers, walls and crests, with deep gullies and scree cones between them. The massif is almost entirely forested: beech woods dominate, with spruce, fir, rowan and sycamore maple mixed in. The undergrowth includes mezereon and the very rare Fatra cyclamen, a local endemic of these mountains. On the summit rocks and screes lime-loving grassland survives, with warmth-loving and mountain species such as dwarf sedge, pale fescue, moor grass and narrow-leaved inula.

Just below the summit stands a well-known dead, dry tree that has become a kind of emblem of the mountain. Drienok lies within the Veľká Fatra National Park.

Safety, season and rules

The slopes are steep and rocky, so stay on the path, especially in wet weather and in winter, when the limestone is slippery. The summit platform is small – take care near the drops. In the national park keep to marked trails and do not pick plants. In the Slovak mountains help comes from the Mountain Rescue Service HZS: 18 300 (+421 18 300) or 112.

Interesting facts

• Since 2007 the official spelling has been Drienok instead of the older Drieňok.
• The height of the mountain used to be given as 1273 m.

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