Orava Reservoir and Slanica Island

The “Orava Sea” below Babia hora

Orava Reservoir (Oravská priehrada), jokingly called the “Orava Sea” by locals, lies in northern Slovakia, in the historic region of Orava, close to the Polish border. It was created at the confluence of the White and Black Orava to tame floods: since the Wallachian colonisation of the 16th century the mountain valley had been heavily deforested, and in downpours the river flooded houses and fields. The first dam designs appeared as early as 1870, but construction began only in 1941. Work was held up by mineral water that corroded the concrete and by weak clay ground in the foundations; the first turbine started on 2 May 1953 and the scheme was completed in 1954.

It is Slovakia’s largest reservoir by both area (about 35 km²) and volume (375.5 million m³). The average depth is 15 m, reaching 38 m at the dam. The villages of Slanica, Osada, Hámre, Ľavkovo, Ústie, part of Bobrov and two thirds of Námestovo disappeared under the water — which is why Námestovo has no historic centre. Only a hill of Slanica remained above the surface, becoming Slanica Island, with Bird Island next to it. The shores and islands are among Slovakia’s most important sites for waterbirds on the migration route.

What to see and do

• Slanica Island of Art (Slanický ostrov umenia), a 3.5 ha island cared for by the Orava Gallery. The Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross was built in 1766–1769 as a Baroque chapel and rebuilt in 1843 as a Classicist church with two towers; from 1971 it housed an exhibition of folk wooden sculpture and reverse glass painting. The island also has the remains of a cemetery, a lapidarium of Orava stone carving from the 18th and 19th centuries and an exhibition about the drowned villages in the former crypt. In summer 2026 the western part of the island opened for the first time, with new paths and a viewpoint towards Babia hora and Bird Island.
• A boat trip on the 90-passenger OG Slanica: 25 minutes’ sailing, about 40 minutes on the island and 25 minutes back.
• Time on the water: the southern and western shores offer beaches, sailing, windsurfing, pedalos and rowing boats; in winter, during hard frosts, people walk and skate on the frozen surface.

Practical information

The main holiday centres are Námestovo and Slanická osada on the southern shore. The island boat leaves from pier no. 2 in Slanická osada; in the 2026 summer season sailings run daily at 9:00, 11:00, 13:00, 15:00 and 16:30, each lasting about 1.5 hours. Ticket prices for 2026 have not been officially published — check at the pier. Important: the island church itself is closed for complete restoration until the end of 2028, so you cannot go inside, but the island, the lapidarium and the views are accessible.

The shores are flat and reachable by car, so the reservoir is well suited to a family holiday without demanding hikes. The weather here is changeable and it is often windy on the water — bring warm clothes even in summer.

Nearby

South of the reservoir are Orava Castle and the Museum of the Orava Village in Zuberec, and in Tvrdošín the UNESCO-listed wooden Church of All Saints. After a day out you can relax in the thermal pools of Oravice.

Official website: oravskagaleria.sk

Photos: juja1811, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons; Andrej Krivulčík, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons; Oravská galéria v Dolnom Kubíne, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons; Radovan Škultéty, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons; Ing.Mgr. Jozef Kotulič, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons; Fry72, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.