The hike up Vápenná from Sološnica exceeded all my expectations, above all for the view from the top. Most of it follows a wide forest path, so it works even on hot summer days. Leave the car at the car park in Sološnica. If you’re up for more, read on to see where you can go from Vápenná.
- From Bratislava
- About an hour and a half to Sološnica by public transport, roughly half that by car
- Where to park
- At the far end of Sološnica, right where the green trail starts
- Route
- About 4 km; below Malá Vápenná the green waymarks switch to red; we reached the top in exactly 60 minutes
- Difficulty
- Moderate; dogs manage it too, and our youngest hiker was 5 months old
- When to go
- Even on hot summer days, as most of the route follows a wide forest path in the shade
- At the top
- A 5-metre lookout tower you climb by ladder, with views over the Little Carpathians
Contents2 chaptersHideShow
A hike up Vápenná from Sološnica? My jaw dropped. Twice, in fact. First when I counted 116 people in my team on our second group hike of 2023, and then at the view from Vápenná.
The hike surpassed everything I’d expected. In this article you’ll find practical tips for hiking in the Little Carpathians (Malé Karpaty), specifically up their third-highest peak, Vápenná, also called Roštún (752 m). And we turned up in force.
Even in the digital age, some people will put their phones away on a Saturday and climb a Little Carpathian peak with a stranger. That fascinates me. I’m glad I have that kind of influence.
Hiking Vápenná from Sološnica
Vápenná is also known as Roštún, and there are two ways up. The easier route starts in the village of Sološnica, which is where I set off. You can also take the harder route up Vápenná from Plavecké Podhradie.
Where to park in Sološnica for the Vápenná hike
From Bratislava, public transport gets you to Sološnica in about an hour and a half (by bus, or by train and bus with a change in Malacky). By car the journey takes roughly half as long.
You can park at the far end of Sološnica, right where the green waymarks start. My team filled the whole car park. I wonder if Sološnica’s car park had ever seen anything like it. Here’s the exact location of the car park.
The route up Vápenná, the third-highest peak in the Little Carpathians
After our previous group hike up Chopok, the third-highest peak in the Low Tatras, hiking up the third-highest peak in the Little Carpathians, Vápenná, was a walk in the park. The route follows the green waymarks and stays in the shade of the forest, though for a short stretch we crossed a meadow. Stick to the waymarked trail, and bear in mind that you’re in a national nature reserve under the fifth and strictest level of protection. Below Malá Vápenná the green waymarks switch to red and the path gets steeper.
On the way we also passed the time with a Rubik’s cube. We tried hard, but nobody in our team managed to solve it. When I was a kid, I used to peel the stickers off and put them back so the colours matched. This time that was no use: instead of colours, this cube had pictures, and they looked rather alike.
We covered the roughly 4 km route in exactly 60 minutes, then came out of the forest to a wide view over green Slovak hills. The finishing touch is a 5-metre lookout tower on the summit of Vápenná. If you don’t mind heights, climb the ladder to the top. I had no choice, or we’d never have all fitted into the photo. The views of the Little Carpathians from the tower are genuinely beautiful. Janka Travelhacker even declared them the best in the whole range, and I have to agree.
Where to go next from Vápenná
For a change on the way back, you can also start in Sološnica and come down to Plavecké Podhradie. Or carry on from Vápenná along the SNP Heroes’ Trail (Cesta hrdinov SNP, named after the Slovak National Uprising) and keep going all the way to Chopok.
You won’t get the souvenir medal that everyone on our challenge received, but the satisfaction of a new summit will stay with you.
Hiking Vápenná with kids and pets, and when to go
I’d rate the Vápenná hike as moderate, and it suits everyone, whatever their age. After all, our youngest hiker was just 5 months old. You can bring your dog too. Another great thing about this route: most of it follows a wide forest path, which makes it ideal even on hot summer days. The trees keep the scorching sun off you. Trust me, I’ve tried it. I’m already thinking of popping back in winter. It must be beautiful here whatever the season.
I’m looking forward to the next summits and to meeting more of you.
A Slovak travel blogger who has been getting Slovaks out of their office chairs since 2013. Author of the book Influencer and founder of the Bez Mapy blog. "Bez Mapy" is Slovak for "without a map".
Leave it in a comment. It will help others who are planning a trip here too.
