Long day trips are a lifelong contribution to children’s lives. They will remember how you taught them respect and reverence for all living things. They will learn to overcome obstacles and understand responsibilities for what they do.
THE RIGHT TIME FOR TOURISM WITH CHILDREN
When is the right time to go for a trip? If the weather is good enough to allow it. It is said that the weather is always suitable for staying outside, you just need to have suitable clothes.
However, when planning a trip, we recommend to follow the weather conditions so that it is pleasant and motivating for children, not a “struggle for survival”.
HOW TO GO ON HIKING WITH CHILDREN?
Plan the trip primaly according to the age and abilities of the child.
You can carry smaller children in a scarf or in an ergonomic or tourist carrier. You can alternate carrying and walking, depending on the circumstances, so that all participants feel comfortable.
The most beautiful view in the world for a child is from the back of someone close. You may get sweaty a little, but these moments are so quickly gone… and you will remember them with love later, when you child can walk alone.
GOOD ADVICE
The child should have his or her own backpack, which we choose according to the size of the child (backpacks for adults are not suitable because they will slide off the little shoulders). This backpack should have a symbolic content that you adapt to the possibilities and age of the child. For starters one spare T-shirt is enough. We are gradually adding to teach our child what he or she will need for future trips.
NEVER TAKE TOURISM WITH CHILDREN AS A PENALTY for disobedience.
Choose the route according to the age and physical capabilities of the child, knowing that at a certain time, the adult must take the child on her/his back. Therefore also consider your own physical cabability.
Nature trips can teach children a lot. Our little replicas do what they see. They copy the behavior of their parents in the first place. Visit nature together and be respectful of the home of animals and plants. Watch with the children what is growing and living around.
Teach little ones to behave like wildlife in their own habitat: be quiet, humble and peaceful. It’s not cool to break and tear everything around. Things can be explored without destruction. And pay special attention to garbage. It certainly does not belong to the forest.
Mummy, daddy, let’s go for a trip!
1st tip: JANOSIKOVE DIERY
Locality: Zilina district
Terchova center
National park Great Fatra
Transport, refreshments and accommodation
There are two ways to get to the starting point of the tour.
You will arrive to Zilina by train and continue by bus to Terchová. You will continue on foot from here, it is not far.
The second option is to travel comfortably by car to the parking lot in Stefanova or Biely Potok near Hotel Diery.
Accommodation can by found in various facilities in the villages Terchova, Stefanova and Biely Potok. We recommend Hotel Diery, which has a nice children’s playground.
You can refresh yourself in the Podziar hut on the tourist route between Dolné Diery and Horné Diery.
The hike and its routes
The location is attractive all year round. In winter you can sled and ski. In warmer months, you can go hiking.
Janosikove Diery are divided into Horne Diery, Dolne Diery a Nove Diery. All were formed by the stream called Dierovy Potok.
The blue tourist sign will guide you safely on the route.
You can choose from three possibilities:
- undemanding: Biely Potok – Dolne Diery – Stefanova. Many footbridges are on this route
- moderately demanding: under the hill Vrchpodziar
- challenging: through Horne diery with the ladders (10-15m high). We choose this route when the summer weather is stable.
It is necessary to show children how to walk on footbridges and how to stay on the ladders safely.
If it’s possible, one adult at the front determines the speed and the other is checking safety at the rear.
It is important to estimate children’s physical abilities so that we do not expose them to unnecessary fear and stress. Sometimes it’s better to wait until they mature so they can have unforgettable experiences of massive rocks and clear, wild waters. Then they will happily return back to these places.
BONUS: The legend about Janosik
Tell your children the story of Jánošík, so that they know why Janosikove Diery bear this name.
Juraj Janosik was allegedly born in the 1680s in the settlement of Stefanova (now part of Terchova) in the Austrian monarchy. The period when Juraj was born was marked by anti-Habsburg uprisings led by the Hungarian nobility. Their goal was to gain the independence of Hungary through revolts.
It was evil and turbulent times that brought hunger, disease, and endless suffering.
A simple village man often obtained information from gossip that he had no way to verify because there were no mass media such as the Internet or social networks.
And so, during the rare moments when the villagers met during the winters for yarning and there, in addition to magical fictional fairy tales, they told stories. These stories have been enriched with elements of reality. Real people appear in them and the places where the stories take place are also real.
In many stories, the main character was the mountain captain Jurko Janosik, who took from the rich and gave to the poor.
He had gifts received from good fairies – a belt that made him invulnerable and a wallachian that protected him from superiority.
He wandered through many places and hid in the gorge, which was later named Janosikove Diery.
In the 19th century, rumors of a brave bandit came to literature. It was developed by passionate young poets, who named themselves Štúrovci.
In their works, Jánošík became a symbol of the fight for freedom.
This myth has persisted to this day, and the fact that Jánošík looted for less than three years does not change anything. He was caught, imprisoned and in 1713 publicly executed in Liptovsky Mikulas.
We remember him and his legend will certainly be remembered by future generations as well.
2nd tip: GERAVY, SLOVAK PARADISE
Place: Slovensky raj, gorge Geravy
Geravy belong to the Zejmar gorge, located in the southern part of Slovak paradise.
Transport, refreshments and accommodation
As in the first tip, you also have exactly two transport options.
You can get to the final stop Dedinky-Mlynky part of Biele Vody by train.
Accommodation is offered by hotels and cottages in Dedinky and Mlynky.
Hunger and thirst can be solved in hotels and several buffets.
You can also eat at the Geravy Hotel, where you will find a mini ZOO and a trampoline. And watch out for the pony!
What to expect on the hike
It is the shortest open gorge of the national park. On an area of about 1 km we overcome 228 meters of elevation gain.
Here you have the ideal opportunity to “test” children to see if they will be able to handle a longer ladder tour.
Ladders, small river supplied by a rich spring, waterfall and educational nature trail all await you.
The whole time you wander inside the Slovak Paradise National Park, where we can admire the power of the water, which makes its way between the wild limestone cliffs.
3rd tip: PROSIECKA VALLEY
Where can we find it?
Between Orava and Liptov.
It is a part of Chocske Vrchy.
Transport, refreshments and accommodation
If you choose this trip, you can use two modes of transport again.
You will arrive in Liptovsky Mikulas by train and you continue by bus to the village of Prosiek or to the village of Kvacany.
If you prefer privacy and time flexibility, you can drive to the starting point by car.
This tourist area offers many accommodation options in cottages and apartment houses. Most of them also feature children’s playgrounds.
To be closest to Prosiecka Valley, find accommodation in Kvacany, Prosiek or Liptovska Sielnica.
There are many restaurants and buffets in the area where you can get a snack. Parents may enjoy the mini-brewery in Kvacany.
What to expect on the hike
We will appreciate this tour during the summer heat. There is always a pleasant coolness in the gorge.
From about the age of seven, children should be able to complete the route without major problems. They will be rewarded with a several-hour stay in beautiful, wild nature.
We recommend the start of the hike from the village of Prosiek.
Prosiecka dolina is a gorge of limestone rocks, which was broken by the water of wild torrents.
An educational trail with 17 boards leads across the entire valley, on which we can find information about flora, fauna, geology and history.
At the end of the tour you will come across the Svorad meadow, where you and children can observe a rich variety of colorful plants and insects.
BONUS: Legend of Svorad
The name Svorad was given to the meadow by a monk who, according to medieval legends, spent a substantial part of his life here. This is the period at the turn of the 10th and 11th centuries.
Svorad was originally a monk in a monastery in Nitra. He left voluntarily to lead a hermit’s life without worldly joys. He spent his days in prayer and contemplation. He was declared a saint for his way of life and thus became the first saint in Slovakia.
To stick to the truth, we also mention that he sought the salvation of the soul in self-torture. He wrapped his whole body in a chain that grew into his skin, whipped himself, denied sleep and food. It depends on you how much information you provide to your own children.
Those were three beautiful trips that guarantee to initiate your children’s love of hiking.
We hope you can no longer wait for amazing family adventures!
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