Slovakia on bicycle – Liptovska Mara circuit

The Liptovska Mara circuit is how our short vacation in Slovakia started: we packed our stuff, loaded the bikes in the car and started the long road to this little patch of land that promised sunshine but… to our big surprise… greeted us with dense clouds and snow at 600 meters altitude.

It didn’t seem to be something that would soon blow over so we were really worried about our perspectives as we left our snowboards at home. No kidding, people in Slovakia were actually going to the mountains to sky. It was strange as this was the main reason we left Romania, to get away from the snow and low temperatures. We went to bed with the hope of a new better day but we had a backup plan, as we took our hiking boots with us. Up yours weathers! We are not going to stay indoors!

Probably Murphy saw that he should joke with us as the next day we woke up to a shiny, perfect day, so… let’s start pedaling.

Before we left we found these lazy, puffy and extremely spoiled four-legged cuties that were begging for some petting and attention… we could not refuse.

Distance

47 Km

Total Time

5 h 00 min

Active Time

3 h 45 min

Vertical Relief

+522 / -522 m

Min/Max Altitude

500 – 700 m

Average Speed

12 km/h

Liptovska Mara Circuit

We began our circuit around lake Liptovska from the hotel and on to the main road going counter clockwise. You will start off with a little effort by going uphill but from this point, you will have a clear image of the magnificent view: the waterside, the spring green hills, and the white snow covered peaks of the mountains. This is the kind of stuff that simply fills you up with positive energy!

Here we will make a short stop at one of the emblems of the Liptovska lake, the ruins of the Tower of the Church of Virgin Mary from Bobrovník.

Nothing much can be said about the tower but the view from this point over the distant mountains is simply stunning.

Moving on we made our way in the direction of the dam where we had to bypass a barrier that was blocking access to cars towards the small village of Vlasky and then Vlachy, going under the motorway. Here you can find a small picnic area with a table and some benches ideally placed for a short snack.

Next, we are going further away from the lake, entering an area with hills and small villages full of hard-working man. We were impressed to see how good looking and modest the villages were. Probably the fact that the area is mainly touristic has some say in the matter but I am sure that it is also about the industrious way of the inhabitants. Even if Romania and Slovakia kinda have the same communist background and are somewhat close in terms of living stands, we saw a big difference here. Most of the houses, even if they were modest, had a  front flower garden, trimmed grass and closely decorated lawns, with no signs of rubbish or bad taste.

At Svati Kriz village we took a short break and visited the great wooden church which is actually really BIG, one of the biggest in Europe! We continued on making our way between green hills guided by the mountain peaks at the horizon.

Next to the “Sun Farm” we had a short off-road experience going next to the endless fields of rapeseed.

The last part of the circuit took us downhill all the way to Liptovsky Mikulas and from there to our accommodation. It has been a great day for us both from the weather point of view but also for the fact that we managed to do this circuit that we wanted to go on since our holiday in Slovakia one year before. It has been a great experience that I warmly recommend you to try on your own two wheels!

GPS track to Liptovska Mara Circuit

How to get to Liptovska Mara Circuit?

Where to sleep?

You can choose from a wide variety of accommodation options as the area is mainly touristic by nature. Based on preference you can either opt in for staying at a camping or between four walls. Taking in consideration we arrived before the opening of the touristic season and the overnight temperatures were low we decided to sleep at a guesthouse.

We found a nice and cheap accommodation in Liptovsky Trnovec that had a great host – Gazdovsky dvor “U Tlaciarov”. The house has five rooms with private bathroom, a fully equipped common kitchen, a common living room with a fireplace, a long table, pool table, chairs, sofa, etc. The WIFI is for free and you can park the cars in the front yard. In the back, you have a big yard with chairs, tables, sunbeds, a small pond with fish and flowers everywhere. We had a good time and only spent 100 € for the 5 nights we stayed there.

If you prefer campings there is one closeby in the same village – Mara Camping (we stayed here one year before). It is a really nice place, clean and it offers a lot of fun options: beach, access to the lake, volleyball field, sky jet, stand up paddle board, kayak, boat tours and much more. The price is decent at about 15.5 € per night for two persons, tent and car. They have small huts for rent and the camping complex is huge, with two restaurants, many bars and a kids area.

Good to know

• Best time: As it is with cycling the best time to do it is either spring or autumn, when the temperatures are not so high, nor so low and the day is long. You can even attempt it during summer if you wish to include a dip in the lake.
• Landscape: on your left side you have the lake and on the right mountains – you can never get bored.
• Safety: The circuit is mostly on secondary roads and the drivers in Slovakia are pretty mindful of cyclists.
• Road / lane status: Most of the roads are in good condition and are clean, without dust, small pebbles or bumps.
• Supplies: Liptovsky Trnovec, Bobrovnik, Vlachy, Galovany, Svaty Kriz, Lazisko, Pavcina Lehota, Liptovski Mikulas – these are the town / villages you will pass through.
• Points of interest: Liptovska Lake, The wooden church from Svätý Kríž, Tatralandia Aqua Park (really nice place), Liptovský Mikuláš, Demänovská Cave of Liberty.

As this is a touristic region finding someplace to eat is relatively easy. You will find a few diners in all villages along the route so where you plan to stop is a matter of choice.

Check these other close-by destinations:

• Hike to Rysy Peak – High Tatras
• Hike to Slavkovsky Peak – High Tatras
• Hike to Bystra Lavka Circuit – High Tatras
• Slovakia: Cycling Routes in Liptov Region

Hope you found the information helpful and accurate, but remember, if you have any questions drop them in a comment below!

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