Chata pod Borišovom

Overview

Writing pages about huts is not my habit, but I feel like making it for this very one.

Chata pod Borišovom, the "hut under Borišov" (eponym top), is a hut located in the heart of the range of Velká Fatra, on the pass between Borišov and Ploská, which makes also the upper end of Slovakia's longest valley, Ľubochnianska Dolina. It is just over the upper forest limit, in a scenery made of endless grassy undulating pastures, dwarf pines and sherperd huts. Geographically, the hut is almost at the centre of the range, and provides the feeling of being in the heart of a wild remote place.

Despite a massive appearance at first sight, the dark square-shaped building immediately reveals a friendly and welcoming character, as we reach the other side, facing the slope of Borišov. The entrance is decorated humouristicaly with various objects (like the famous shoes !), and so is the rest of the hut.

The wooden furnitures that make all the inside are clean and modern, and the dining room well decorated with miscellaneous objects, like wooden tools, ceramics, all related to the mountain lifestyle of the region, and reminds somehow of some folk museum of the Liptov county.

The hut can welcome up to 20 people in comfortable rooms, equiped with superposed double-beds. Unfortunately the bar doesn't provide much catering facilities, only basic stuff like sandwhiches, bacon, sausages, omelet. It is recommended to bring a bit extra food (However, surprisingly, the hut is well furbished with local beers and liqueurs like Slivovica, Borovička or Demänovska !)

One of the reasons of it, is that the hut is not served at all by any land-rover track (have you noticed there is not a single corner with dodgy material constructions and odd things ?). Chata pod Borišovom belongs to the familly of the slovak huts served by men, the "Šerpas", and is the only one of this kind out of the Low and High Tatras. The wooden platform-rucksack one can often see in the entrance witnesses it ! The "Chatars" regularly take part to the famous Sherpa competition organized yearly in the Tatras.

Guests can admire the sunset through the windows, from this ideal location. The last rays of light illuminate a whole range of tops including Rakytov, Čierny kameň, the massive Ploská, Suchý Vrch, Ostredok, Križna... The most reckless will perhaps head to the top of Borišov some 30mn before the sunset (or the sunrise ?), in order to have a wider panorama.

When the darkness comes, the room is lightened with genuine petrol lamps. When it is a bit cold, the fireplace warms the whole building. Guitars can be found in the main room as well and it is not rare that someone, in the evening, plays some local melody. And perhaps you will also enjoy the company of the friendly german shepherd of the hut, a skillful avalanche dog despite his naive face.

All of this make the place very peaceful and relaxing, with a magic atmosphere. I have personally never experienced a hut with such character, except perhaps Teryho Chata in the Tatras. The webmaster of the site Hiking.sk, thanks to which I decided to give it a visit (see the also description page of this site, with many other photos), describes it as the "best hut in Slovakia". Only this !

Getting there & routes

Hut in summer

The most important

Hut in winter

Also very important

Necpaly, Belá and Liptovské Revúce, located all around the Velká Fatra range, respectively west and east, are the most convenient trailheads to reach this hut. All three are served by bus if needed.
By car, these points can be reached via Martin, Banská Bystrica or Ružomberok. Martin is best reached from Žilina and the D1 motorway that links it to Bratislava. Banská Bystrica might be convenient for those coming from Budapest and the R1 road. Ružomberok is best when coming from East, or Poland, but only the Zakopane region. Reaching Velká Fatra is usually problematic (small roads, etc etc) if we come from places more west in Poland.

On foot, the hut can be reached as follows :

- The most simple, from Liptovské Revúce (SE), via Ploská and the yellow trail. The top of Ploská can be circumvented by the green trail aside north.
- From Belianská Dolina (NW) using the green-marked trail
- From Necpalská Dolina (NW) using the blue-marked trail
- From Ľubochnianská Dolina using the red and yellow trails (very long, but the approach can be made by bike)
- From the Rakytov ridge (E), with the green-marked trail
- From the Ostredok ridge (S), with the red-marked trail


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Images

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