Marťácky vrch

Marťácky vrch (locally also Marťakovský kopec) is an 854 m summit in the north-eastern part of the Javorníky range in Slovakia, in the Rakovská hornatina group. It lies on the boundary of Čadca and Kysucké Nové Mesto districts in the Žilina Region, about 4 km south of the centre of Zákopčie and 8 km south-west of Čadca. The boundary between the Zákopčie and Ochodnica cadastres crosses the summit. Small scattered hamlets typical of Kysuce – Petránky, U Rulcov, U Kordišov and others – lie around it.

The mountain stands in the central part of the Rakovská hornatina, on the main Javorníky ridge between Chotárny kopec and Kazícka Kýčera. The summit is open meadow, so the views along the ridge are wide.

How to get there / routes

• The red trail – the Javorníky ridge trail (Javornícka magistrála) from Čadca to Sedlo pod Grapou – bypasses the summit on the east, with a marked side path to the lookout tower.
• The blue "Vila Galvánka" trail from Kysucké Nové Mesto to the centre of Zákopčie crosses the red one in the Petránky hamlet.
• The shortest way, suitable for families with children, starts at the bus terminus in the U Rulcov hamlet and runs via U Trnkov.

The sources give no walking times, but the summit is only about 1.5 km as the crow flies from the bus stop.

What you can see from the top

In 2009–2011 the 14 m "Zákopčie" lookout tower was built on the summit from natural materials – stone and wood. Its platform offers an all-round panorama: besides the nearby Javorníky you can see Lysá hora in the Moravian-Silesian Beskids, Veľká Rača in the Kysuce Beskids and Veľký Rozsutec in the Lesser Fatra.

Nature and history

The Javorníky ridge is gentle here, with meadows, pastures and mixed woods, and scattered Kysuce hamlets on the slopes. The tower on Marťácky vrch is a new local landmark built of local stone.

Zákopčie – a village of hamlets

Most paths to the summit start in Zákopčie, a village scattered over five valleys (Holovská, Kordišovská, Ruľcovská, Polievkovská and Kľukovská) and the surrounding hills. It consists of about 70 settlements (once around 90) – so-called kopanice, isolated farmsteads among fields and forests. The area was settled temporarily during the Wallachian colonisation of the 16th century and permanently at the beginning of the 17th; the first written record, in the urbarium of the Strečno estate, dates from 1662. Poor soils and a harsh climate could not feed large families, so in the 19th and first half of the 20th century many inhabitants left to work in the industrial Ostrava region or emigrated overseas. The village's highest point is Jakubovský vrch (875 m). Two bus lines run from Čadca via Raková to the centre of Zákopčie and to the hamlets in the valleys, including U Ruľcov.

Safety, season and rules

The routes are easy and open all year. Climb the tower carefully, especially with children, in wind and ice. The ridge is exposed, so do not stay on the tower in a thunderstorm. Slovak Mountain Rescue Service (HZS): 18 300 (+421 18 300) or 112.

Photos: Michal Jakubský, CC BY 3.0; Hornokysučan, CC BY-SA 4.0; Hornokysučan, CC BY-SA 4.0; Michal Jakubský, CC BY 3.0; Hornokysučan, CC BY-SA 4.0 — Wikimedia Commons.