Klenovský Vepor

Klenovský Vepor is a massive 1338.2 m summit in the Veporské vrchy, part of the Slovak Ore Mountains. It is the second-highest summit of the Veporské vrchy and the highest in the part called the Balocké vrchy. The mountain rises above the village of Klenovec, about 15 km south-east of Brezno in the Banská Bystrica Region – on the boundary of Brezno and Rimavská Sobota districts, in the cadastres of Čierny Balog and Klenovec. Its prominence is about 444 m. Seen from afar, the elongated massif resembles a lying boar – hence the name: "vepor" means "boar".

The summit lies on a ridge running south-west from the Bánovo saddle (918 m) to Tri chotáre (1141 m). The massif itself is a broad east–west ridge from which long, deeply dissected spurs radiate in all directions, separated by deep, winding valleys. The western slopes drain to the Čierny Hron, the northern ones via the Šaling and Čierny streams, and the south-eastern ones via the Veporský stream to the Klenovská Rimava. Around it rise Karašovo, Zrazy, Lômik, Široký grúň, Rozsypok, Železná brána (1164 m), Machnáčov grúň and Tri chotáre.

How to get there / routes

The red Rudná magistrála crosses the summit:

• From the north-east – from Zbojská via the Bánovo saddle and Rozsypok (about 4:30 h).
• From the south-west – from Tri chotáre via Machnáčov grúň; from the Tlstý javor pass about 4:10 h.
• Green trail – from Klenovec via the Sedlo pod Vartou.
• Blue trails – from Čierny Balog (Dobroč) via Stará dolina and the Machniarka saddle, from Tisovec via the Bánovo saddle, or from Utekáč via Tri chotáre.
• Yellow trail – from Pohronská Polhora via the Chlipavice junction and the Machniarka saddle.

A mountain hut stands on the south-eastern slope.

What you can see from the summit

The summit is wooded, so the best views open from rock outcrops and thinner patches of vegetation. From there you can see the neighbouring summits of the Veporské vrchy, the ridges of the Low and High Tatras, the Spiš-Gemer Karst, the Stolické vrchy, Poľana and the border hills of northern Hungary. The most interesting view is to the north-west, into the Čierny Hron valley and to the Prašivá massif in the Low Tatras.

Nature and history

The mountain is volcanic: an erosion-isolated lava flow of pyroxene andesites of Miocene (Badenian) age, probably from a volcanic centre near Tisovec. The andesite crops out here and there as walls and rocks – on the summit and in the southern and western parts of the massif – and these give the mountain its distinctive look.

Most of the massif, roughly above 1150 m, is protected by the Klenovský Vepor national nature reserve, declared in 1964 over 257.6 ha. It protects forests of the 5th to 7th forest vegetation zones – a varied mosaic of well-preserved forest communities that change with altitude, aspect and relief.

Safety, season and rules

In the reserve keep to the marked trails and do not pick plants. The routes to the summit are long, so plan your strength and daylight. About a kilometre from the summit is the Jánošíkova slza spring, with a drinking-water spring a little further; there are several shelters on the slopes. In the Slovak mountains help comes from the Mountain Rescue Service HZS: 18 300 (+421 18 300) or 112.

Interesting facts

• The name "Vepor" comes from the resemblance of the mountain's outline to a boar's back.
• The massif is a lava flow that erosion has "prepared out" of the surrounding rocks.

Photos: Pudelek (Marcin Szala), CC BY-SA 3.0; Pudelek, CC BY-SA 4.0; Daniel Baránek, CC BY-SA 3.0; Daniel Baránek, CC BY-SA 3.0; Daniel Baránek, CC BY-SA 3.0 — Wikimedia Commons.