Hole of the western Low Tatras: from Prašivá to Ďurková

The western part of the main ridge of the Low Tatras (Nízke Tatry) is almost 20 kilometres of continuous hole – grassy mountain pastures above the tree line. From Hiadeľské sedlo (1,099 m) above Donovaly the crest rises to Prašivá (1,652 m), Malá and Veľká Chochuľa (1,753 m) and Košarisko, then continues over Veľká hoľa (1,640 m), Latiborská hoľa (1,648 m) and Zámostská hoľa (1,612 m) to Ďurková (1,750 m) below Chabenec. The names of the summits tell you what kind of country this is: the Slovak word "hoľa" means a high mountain pasture. The whole area belongs to the Low Tatras National Park, and the red Cesta hrdinov SNP (Trail of the Heroes of the Slovak National Uprising) runs along the crest.

The mountains here are built of crystalline rocks – mostly granites of the so-called Prašivá type – so the ridge is soft and rounded. The meadows reach down the slopes to 1,500 m and in places to 1,250 m, with islands of dwarf pine among them. They are species-poor grasslands dominated by mat-grass and rock bent; in spring they come alive with crocuses, Carpathian snowbells and alpine pasqueflowers, later with yellow golden cinquefoil and buttercups. The hole of Veľká hoľa are not a natural alpine belt: the forest was cut and burned for grazing, and pastoralism here had a history of several hundred years. Slovak encyclopaedic sources link the origin of the hole mainly to the Wallachian colonisation; they were never mown or fertilised, and where grazing was abandoned the lower pastures are gradually becoming overgrown. Miners worked alongside the shepherds: on the northern slopes of Latiborská and Veľká hoľa above the settlement of Magurka gold, silver and antimony were mined from the Middle Ages until the early 20th century – adits and spoil heaps are still visible. In autumn 1944 units of the Slovak National Uprising retreated east along the crest; many people died in the deep snow.

What to see and do

• The best panorama is from Veľká Chochuľa: to the west Veľká Fatra from Krížna to Smrekovica, to the north-west Malá Fatra with Veľký Rozsutec, to the north the pyramid of Veľký Choč, to the east the main ridge of the Low Tatras with Ďumbier, and to the south the Kremnica Mountains and distant Poľana.
• Along the crest from summit to summit. For most of the way the path runs through open grass, so on both Latiborská hoľa and Zámostská hoľa the view is all-round.
• The Ďurková shelter (Útulňa Ďurková, 1,623 m) stands in the middle of a large hoľa on the site of an old shepherds' salaš, marked on old maps as "Chabenecký salaš". The present building was put up in 2001; it is open all year, you sleep in your own sleeping bag, and there is a spring of drinking water next to it.
• When to go: in May–June, when crocuses and cinquefoils flower, or in September, when the grass turns russet.

How to get there

This is a serious mountain hike, not a walk for prams: you cannot drive up to the ridge. The classic option is the red trail Horná Poruba, U Brdárov – Pred Čuntavou (this is the Cesta hrdinov SNP) from Donovaly via Hiadeľské sedlo: from the saddle to Latiborská hoľa it is 13.7 km, about 970 m of ascent and 4 h 30 min of walking. From the south, from the village of Jasenie, routes lead to the Ďurková shelter through the Lomnistá valley – 13.9 km, about 4 h 25 min – or through the Jasenianska valley via Struhárske sedlo – about 4 h 45 min; from the shelter to the ridge it is another 30 min (trail Junction above Ďurková Saddle – Jasenie). From the north the blue trail Ľupčianska dolina, Tajch – Sedlo Latiborskej hole climbs to the Latiborská hoľa saddle, and from Liptovská Lúžna a yellow trail leads via Sedlo pod Skalkou. Times are from the trail signposts (pl.wikipedia).

Season and safety

On the open crest there is nowhere to shelter from thunderstorms, fog and wind; in winter the steep northern and western slopes of Prašivá and Veľká Chochuľa are prone to avalanches, and a memorial to avalanche victims stands below the Košarisko saddle. Low Tatras NP rules (NAPANT, as of October 2026): walk only on marked trails and only in daytime – from one hour after sunrise to one hour before sunset; dogs only on a lead and muzzled; on a multi-day ridge traverse you may spend the night only at designated places, including next to the Ďurková shelter if it is full. From 1 October to 30 June three side trails of the park are closed, among them the yellow Žiar – Kotliská trail east of Chabenec. Mountain Rescue Service – 18 300.

Nearby

To the east the ridge continues with the hole of the Low Tatras between Chopok and Chabenec. In the northern valleys are the Vajskovský vodopád (Vajskovský Waterfall) and the Brankovský waterfall — the highest in the Low Tatras.

Official website: napant.sk

Photos: Michal Klajban, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons; maczopikczu, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons; Jerzy Opioła, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons; Daniel Baránek, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons.