Holiday apartment in Súlov: nature trail, rock gates and castle ruins

Nature

The Súľovské skaly National Nature Reserve covers 543.23 ha of protected area and 281.77 ha of buffer zone; it was designated in 1973. Weathering shaped the Súľov conglomerates into rock towers, rock pinnacles and rock gates. Near Súlov, the layers of the Súľov conglomerate are more than 500 m thick. The different rock formations and the thickness of the conglomerate layers describe a landscape whose distinctive features have emerged directly from its geological composition. Thus, in Súlov, the focus is not on individual isolated formations, but on the interplay of towers, pinnacles and gates within a conglomerate landscape shaped by weathering.

Hiking

The nature trail through Súľovské skaly leads through the most interesting central part of the protected area from a tourism perspective. It also leads to the 13 m-high Gotická brána, whose distinctive shape resembles a Gothic portal. The nature trail is 4.2 km long, includes 300 m of ascent and 300 m of descent, and has an estimated walking time of 1 hour and 40 minutes without breaks.

Súľovský hrad can be reached on foot from the village of Súľov-Hradná via red-marked hiking trails or the green-marked nature trail through Súľovské skaly.

Cycling

The yellow-marked Súľov–Vrchteplá cycle route is 4.5 km long, has an elevation difference of 200 m and is classified as a leisure tour.

Culture and history

Súľovský hrad is a medieval castle ruin at an altitude of 660 m. The first written mention of Súľovský hrad dates from 1470. Hrádok is situated on a steep hill above the old Minarovský Mill, in front of the entrance to the Súľov Gorge. The settlement dates from the 9th to the 11th century; in 1967, Hrádok was declared a national cultural monument and in 2001 a natural monument. This gives the site a distinctive hilltop setting combined with a settlement history dating from the 9th to the 11th century.

In the centre of Súľov is the Súľov-Hradná Memorial Room. It displays a historic living room, local traditional costumes, work objects, tools, old photographs and early evidence of technological progress. The exhibition thus provides insights into housing, clothing, work, everyday objects, commemorative culture and technological development. The Church of Saint Michael the Archangel in Súľov dates from 1616 and was rebuilt in the 18th century.

Finds from the Copper Age period of the Eneolithic have been dated in the Šarkania diera cave. This period falls between 2900 and 1900 BC.

If you are planning a holiday apartment in Súlov, you can base your accommodation choice on the excursions you have planned. Nature and activity are the focus on the nature trail through Súľovské skaly, at Gotická brána and along the Súľov–Vrchteplá cycle route. In addition, Súľovský hrad, Hrádok, the Súľov-Hradná Memorial Room and the Church of Saint Michael the Archangel offer historical and cultural destinations. The Šarkania diera cave also adds a prehistoric archaeological site to the picture. Your choice of holiday apartment can therefore be guided by the destinations you would like to combine during your stay.

More places to discover: Velke Rovne, Štiavnik, Kotešová, Bytča.

Back to the higher-level travel overview: Okres Bytča.