Poľana

Poľana is a 1457.8 m summit, the highest point of the mountain massif of the same name in central Slovakia. The massif belongs to the Slovak Central Mountains (Slovenské stredohorie) and is a heavily eroded stratovolcano – the highest volcanic mountains in Slovakia. The summit lies about 7 km north of the town of Hriňová, within its cadastre, in Detva District of the Banská Bystrica Region. With a prominence of about 728 m it stands out clearly above the Zvolen basin.

The summit rises on the south-eastern rim of the former caldera. The caldera is about 6 km across and almost 20 km round, and is counted among the largest extinct volcanoes in Europe; the settlement of Kyslinky lies at its centre. To the west, beyond the Priehybina saddle (1273 m), stands Predná Poľana (1367 m); to the south Kozí chrbát (967 m), to the east Sedlo (1043 m), and to the north Kopce (1334 m) and Brusniansky grúň (1271 m). The western slopes drain into the Hučava, the eastern ones are the source area of the Hukava and the southern ones drain via the Bystrý stream.

How to get there / routes

The red Rudná magistrála, a long-distance trail across central Slovakia, follows the caldera rim over the summit.

• Red trail: from Detva via Kalamárka and the Priehybina saddle, or from the Jasenová saddle via Kopce.
• Blue trail: from Kyslinky via the Priehybina saddle, from Detva via Vrchdetva, or from Lom nad Rimavicou via Kopce.
• Yellow trail: from Hriňová via the Priehybina saddle.

The most popular part of the massif is the ridge from the Poľana mountain hotel on the southern slopes of Predná Poľana to the Chata pod Hrbom. Sources give no official walking times.

What you can see from the summit

The rocky summit ridge is covered with spruce, so the views are only partial – but very far-reaching. The best spots are small meadows, mostly on the southern slopes. From there you can see the neighbouring summits of the massif, the Štiavnické, Kremnické and Starohorské vrchy, the Veľká Fatra, the Low Tatras and the Veporské and Stolické vrchy. To the north the peaks of the High Tatras appear above the Low Tatra ridge, to the south many ranges in Hungary.

Nature and history

The massif is built of middle Miocene andesite volcanics, which here and there crop out as distinctive rock formations. Poľana is the highest and most massive of the Neogene volcanic mountains in the Western Carpathians, although the Štiavnica stratovolcano was probably once higher. The whole massif is forested.

The Poľana Protected Landscape Area (over 20,000 ha) was declared in 1981, and since 1990 it has been one of the UNESCO "Man and the Biosphere" reserves. The summit lies in the Zadná Poľana national nature reserve (855 ha, declared in 1953, the highest, 5th level of protection), which protects beech and spruce forests of largely old-growth character with meadows and peat bogs. According to experts, the area holds Slovakia's largest brown bear population. An educational trail with a longer (17 km) and a shorter (8.5 km) loop starts in Kyslinky.

Safety, season and rules

In the reserve keep to the marked trails and take your litter home. Because there are many bears, do not walk in the forest at dusk, stay in a group and never leave food behind. Near the summit there are drinking-water springs, including the Krivý most well and Žliebky (about 1 km away), as well as several shelters. In the Slovak mountains help comes from the Mountain Rescue Service HZS: 18 300 (+421 18 300) or 112.

Interesting facts

• The Poľana caldera is almost 20 km round – one of the largest extinct volcanoes in Europe.
• Poľana is one of Slovakia's four UNESCO biosphere reserves.

Photos: Marian Lacko, CC BY 3.0; Miroslav Blaho, CC BY-SA 3.0; Miroslav Blaho, CC BY-SA 3.0; Miroslav Blaho, CC BY-SA 3.0 — Wikimedia Commons.