Latiborská hoľa

Latiborská hoľa is a broad, treeless summit 1648 m high on the main ridge of the Low Tatras, in the western part of the Ďumbier Tatras, Slovakia. It lies between Veľká hoľa (1640 m) to the west and Ďurková (1750 m) to the east, above the hamlets of Železnô and Magurka on the northern slope; Liptovská Lúžna lies to the west and Jasenie to the south-east. The summit is about 18 km south-east of Ružomberok. The border between the Žilina and Banská Bystrica regions runs over it, and its slopes belong to Partizánska Ľupča and Jasenie. The whole massif is part of the Low Tatras National Park (NAPANT).

Getting there / routes

The main red ridge trail of the Low Tatras, the SNP Heroes’ Trail (Cesta hrdinov SNP), crosses the summit; here it is also part of the European long-distance path E8.

• Red from the west: from Donovaly via Hiadeľské sedlo, Prašivá, Veľká Chochuľa, Košarisko, Skalka and Veľká hoľa. The section from Hiadeľské sedlo to Latiborská hoľa is 13.7 km with 970 m of ascent, about 4 h 30 min.
• Red from the east: from Chabenec via Ďurková and Zámostská hoľa.
• Blue: from Magurka to Sedlo Latiborskej hole (1540 m), about 1 km east of the summit.
• Yellow: from the west from Liptovská Lúžna via Sedlo pod Skalkou.

What you can see from the summit

The ridge and summit carry only low grassy vegetation, so the view is all-round, especially fine to the north and east. In clear weather you can see the other Low Tatra peaks as well as the Kremnica Mountains, the Greater and Lesser Fatra, Orava Magura and the Beskids, the Choč Mountains, the Western Tatras, the Vepor Mountains and Poľana.

Nature and history

The summit lies in the granite part of the range, between the Ľupčianska valley to the north and the Jasenská valley to the south. A short ridge drops north into the fork of the Prievalský and Ľupčianka streams, and a ridge runs south via Skalka, splitting the upper Jasenská valley into two branches. The northern side drains to the Váh (tributaries of the Lúžňanka and Ľupčianka), the southern slopes to the Hron.

From the Middle Ages until the early 20th century the northern slopes, especially towards Magurka, were intensively mined for gold, silver and later antimony. Adits, high spoil heaps and traces of old mining roads and paths are still clearly visible from the summit. The mountain was once called Zlatý bor (“golden pine wood”) in Slovak, a name that German miners in Magurka corrupted to “Latibor”; hence the modern name, with hoľa meaning mountain pasture.

Safety, season and rules

The ridge above the tree line is fully exposed: strong wind is common, summer brings thunderstorms and fog can hide the path quickly. In winter there is deep snow, blizzards and avalanche danger. Do not enter old mine adits — they collapse. Walk only on the marked trails of the national park and check NAPANT notices. Slovak Mountain Rescue Service (HZS): 18 300 (+421 18 300), general emergency number 112.

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