Rajecke Teplice – Sulov – Lietava castle by mountain bike
- Travelling time: 4h
- Difficulty: Hard
- Why we love it: For the combination of history, nature, sport and city tourism.
- Length: 30 km
- Total Elevation Gain: 317 m
- Way to travel: by bike
- Cost: 0 €
- Our Advice: If you are a downhill fan, take this bike trail from the opposite direction
Challenging, but beautiful bike trail will lead you through many ascends and descends on all surfaces.
The cycling route starts in the centrum of Rajecke Teplice. When you reach railroad-crossing turn left to yellow tourist marker. This marker will lead you through field path and under the bridge. Single-track will bring you to cottage area. From here, continue through fields to village called Zbynov.
In Zbynov, turn right to main road and follow the yellow tourist marker. In the middle of the village, you can start seeing both, green and yellow marker as they go along each other. It´s up to you which one you will follow. Beyond the village, you will start to ascend on sloping track. After some time, you will see beautiful views, so you can stop, take a little break and enjoy the panorama. While ascending, bike trail continues to crossroad under Kamenné dielo, where a little “broken” downhill waits for you. You are crossing the educational walkway about lost “Budzogan”.
From educational walkway, follow the yellow marker. You will descent through forest. This way leads you to saddle Pastúch. From Saddle, follow the route to village Sulov. Here, you can buy a little refreshment in a pub welcoming all cyclists by certification “Vitajte cyklisti” (Welcome cyclists).
From the pub in the centrum of Sulov, continue to Rohacske saddle. Here, you stop following yellow marker and continue to follow blue “C”s. They will lead you through meadows to forest. During the whole time, you are ascending. Prepare yourself for intensive ascend also in the forest. Right under the tophill of saddle, you can find lookout, from where you can see amazing Sulov rocks. Then, after few meters, you are in Rohacske saddle.
From Rohacske saddle, continue zigzag sloping track. Through meadow, you will get to the village Podhorie. Crossing this village, you again ascent across the meadows to forest. Blue “C”s are leading you to a nice single-track, ending in a small stream. Be careful and carry the bike trough this stream. Another ascent will lead you to the crossroad with Cross. Here, follow the ascent cca. 1,5km to Lietava castle. Relax in the ruins and enjoy the atmosphere.
Follow the same way back up to the crossroad with Cross. Turn left. This road will lead you to the village Lietavska Svinna. Through meadows, enter the village and turn right to main road. Shortly before the village ends, you will see a bridge over the steam on your left. Go through this bridge and ascend to the saddle under Velky Vrsok. From here, you will just descend to Zbynov cottage area, which you remember from the beginning of this trail. Enjoying the bike trail, you are finishing in the centrum of Rajecke Teplice.
Author: Nikola Meciarova
Cover photo: Photo by Vladimír Ruček via Wikimedia
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