Predný Choč

Predný Choč (Polish Przedni Chocz) is a 1,249 m summit in the Choč Mountains of northern Slovakia, part of the Veľký Choč group. It lies south-west of Veľký Choč (1,608 m), north of the village of Lisková and about 6 km north of the town of Ružomberok in the Žilina Region. The nearest settlements are Likavka and Lisková about 4 km to the south and Valaská Dubová to the north-west. A winding ridge runs here from Veľký Choč via Stredná poľana, Zadný Choč (1,288 m) and Kopa (1,217 m); the Spuštiak saddle (1,095 m) separates Predný Choč from Kopa. The upper part of the massif belongs to the Choč national nature reserve.

How to get there / routes

Two marked trails cross the slopes of Predný Choč and meet at the Spuštiak saddle; both bypass the summit itself — the red on the west, the blue on the east.

• Red: from Likavka via the Likavský hrad junction to Spuštiak; a short branch leads from it to the summit area.
• Blue: from Likavka or Lisková via the Pod Smrekovom junction to Spuštiak; from Valaská Dubová via Stredná poľana to Spuštiak.

A side path from the red trail leads to a paragliding launch on a meadow in the south-eastern part of the massif.

What you can see from the summit

The forest on the summit greatly limits the view, but the crags on the southern slopes and the meadow near the lower south-western top (1,199 m) open views to the east and south. Majestic Veľký Choč dominates the northern horizon; the south-western Choč Mountains, the Liptov basin, the ridges of the Lesser and Greater Fatra, and the Low and Western Tatras are well visible.

Nature and history

Like Veľký Choč, the Predný Choč massif was carved out of a huge slab of the Choč nappe resting on rocks of the lower Križná nappe. The summit area is built mainly of Reifling limestone, with grey bedded Middle–Upper Triassic dolomites lower down and dark, almost black Gutenstein limestones lower still. The south-eastern side of the ridge is cut by steep cliffs and rock walls that drop in several steps to the Liskovský brook valley; the gentler north-western slope also has a belt of rock walls. In one of these crags, at 932 m, is the two-entrance mouth of the Chladné oči cave.

The mountain is almost entirely forested, except for a few clearings on the broad flat near the lower top. In the middle of this flat, traces of a prehistoric hillfort (Hradisko na Prednom Choči) were found. From 1968 to 1991 the western slopes and the whole Volová valley served as a training ground for Soviet troops and were completely off-limits.

Safety, season and rules

The summit area lies in the strict Choč reserve: do not leave the marked trails and do not climb the crags. The southern cliffs are dangerous, especially in wet weather and in winter when the paths ice up. Slovak Mountain Rescue (HZS): 18 300 (+421 18 300); emergency number 112.

Interesting facts

• At the foot of the mountain above Likavka stand the ruins of Likava Castle, passed by the red trail.
• The meadow overlooking Liptov is used as a paragliding launch site.

Photos: Jerzy Opioła, CC BY-SA 3.0; Jerzy Opioła, CC BY-SA 3.0; Mineralysk, CC0; Jerzy Opioła, CC BY-SA 3.0; Peter Derer, CC BY 3.0 — Wikimedia Commons.