09 Aug Slovakia on bicycle – Ruzomberok Mining Circuit
The Ruzomberok Mining circuit is a day tour that will take you over the surrounding hills and next to the old mines of the area. We drove to the city of Ružomberok where we left our car in the parking lot of a big shopping center that hosts many stores. I think this is the best place to start your circuit but also to end it as maybe you need to shop for something before you leave.
Distance
55 Km
Total Time
6 h 00 min
Active Time
4 h 48 min
Vertical Relief
+1000 / -1000 m
Min/Max Altitude
480 – 1150 m
Average Speed
10.8 km/h
Peddle the Ruzomberok Mining circuit
From there we go on a picturesque road that has low traffic and that is mostly flat with only a few uphill parts.
After a short time, we leave the asphalt behind and go on a combination of dirt and concrete slab road that will eventually get us to Partizanska Lupca village. Be a bit careful on this section as the road had traces of shattered glass and shattered roof tiles on it, besides different debris of construction materials.
From this village, we reach the main road again and we can feel as we are slowly starting to gain altitude, nothing too dramatic, but during the next 20 kilometers, it is all uphill. As we go on the asphalt road is starting to decay and potholes start to be more and more present but the good thing is that this makes the road a lot less appealing for cars. We are climbing… and climbing… and climbing… how much more?
As we were talking the time passed by and we found ourselves at about 1000 meters altitude when we found consistent remains of snow on the side of the road. Shouldn’t have Spring arrive?
Shortly Karina gave in after all this climbing and needed a 10 minute break. The only thing that made her move again was the idea that soon we will enjoy the sweet downhill descent.
Finally, the much-awaited descent came and what better way to celebrate this other than with a well-deserved lunch break. We found a nice spot with a great panoramic view of the valley where we enjoyed the last day in Slovakia.
The descent was fabulous. In the first 5 kilometres, we went from 1100 meters to 700 meters and we passed through the narrow streets of Liptovska Luzna village.
At Liptovska Osada we switched to the main road, E77, where you can expect heavy traffic. Unfortunately, we noticed at the end of the circuit that on the side of this road there was a bicycle lane with dirt / gravel road. If we would have noticed it earlier surely we would have taken it and we would have skipped all the cars on the road.
On the way, we did a short coffee break at a place called Koliba Bodega, after which back to Ruzomberok. Slovakia… we will sure miss you!
GPS track for Ruzomberok Mining circuit
How to get to the Ruzomberok Mining 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: Spring / Autumn.
- Landscape: Mostly hills with lush forests.
- Safety: Pretty safe, the road, for the most part, was pretty deserted and where it was not the Slovaks are careful with cyclists.
- Road / lane status: The roads are in decent condition only the ascension part had some potholes, but nothing serious for bicycles.
- Circuit: Ruzomberok, Liptovska Stiavnika, Liptovske Sliace, Partizanska Lupca, Liptovska Luzna, Liptovska Osada, Ruzomberok.
- Points of interest: Ruzomberok, Liptov Museum (Ruzomberok), Likavka Castle – the largest castle in the Liptov region.
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.
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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