Veľká homoľa

Veľká homoľa is a summit 709 m high in the Little Carpathians (Malé Karpaty), in their Pezinok Carpathians part (Homoľské Karpaty). It stands above the town of Modra, about 4 km north-west of its centre, in the Bratislava Region; Pezinok lies to the south and the villages of Dubová and Píla to the east. The bulky mountain sits on a side ridge that joins the main ridge at Tri kopce (662 m). It is a well-known walking goal for people from Modra, Pezinok and Bratislava, mainly thanks to the lookout tower on the top.

Getting there / routes

There is a dense network of marked trails around the mountain:

• Red: from Modra-Harmónia via the junction at Zochova chata in the Piesok resort (with a bus stop at Zochova chata); also from the south from Pezinok.
• Blue — the Ľudovít Štúr Trail: from Modra.
• Green: from the south from Pezinok or from the west from Kuchyňa via the Čermák junction, where it joins the Štefánik trail on the route of the SNP Heroes’ Trail.
• Yellow: from the west from Pernek via Sedlo pod Javorinou and the Vápenka junction.

The Slovak section of the Way of St James (stage Budmerice – Pezinok) also crosses the summit.

What you can see from the summit

The summit itself is covered by continuous forest, so without the tower the view is limited — a partial view opens only from the northern slopes, left with low vegetation after logging. From the lookout tower, however, the view is all-round: many Little Carpathian peaks and the Danubian Lowland, and in good conditions the White Carpathians, the Strážov Mountains, Považský Inovec, Vtáčnik, Tribeč and, to the south-west, the foothills of the Alps.

Nature and history

The first wooden lookout tower, 20 m high, was built in 2001 with support from the towns of Pezinok and Modra and the PHARE fund, on a proposal by Milan Ružek; scouts helped substantially with the construction. The old tower was later replaced by a new one, presented by the Bratislava Self-Governing Region as a new tourist lookout.

Neighbouring summits are Peprovec (472 m) and Malá homoľa (638 m) to the east, Barvienok (391 m) to the south, Kamenná brána (608 m), Čmeľok (709 m) and Čertov kopec (752 m) to the west, and Tri kopce and Modranská Baba (646 m) to the north. The eastern slopes drain through the Stoličný stream, the northern ones through its tributary the Vištucký stream and the southern ones through the Kamenný stream, all flowing to the Čierna voda and the Little Danube. The mountain belongs to the Little Carpathians Protected Landscape Area (CHKO).

Safety, season and rules

The routes are easy and family-friendly, but climb the tower only in dry weather and never during a thunderstorm; in winter the stairs can be slippery. In the Little Carpathians CHKO stay on marked trails and make fires only in designated places. Slovak Mountain Rescue Service (HZS): 18 300 (+421 18 300), general emergency number 112.

Photos: ŽupaBA VUCBA, CC BY 2.0; Plepo, Public domain; John fitzburn, CC BY-SA 3.0; Pe3kZA, CC BY-SA 3.0; ANDREJ NEUHERZ, CC BY-SA 3.0 — Wikimedia Commons.