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Malá Fatra National Park has a system of gorges that are collectively called Jánošíkové diery(Janosik holes). There are three gorges, or holes: Dolné diery (Lower holes), Nové diery (New holes) and Horné diery (Upper holes). Juraj Jánošík was a 17th century outlaw who reputedly stole from the nobles to give to the poor, he hid in the gorges to escape the law. There are two entry points to the gorge hikes, we started at the south end. There is a huge parking lot in Štefanová, so these hikes must be popular. We started early, right after breakfast. The Penzion Stárek is located at the beginning of the yellow trail that leads north into the gorge system, so for the first couple of hours of our hike we saw hardly any other people. We hiked up the blue trail first, into Horné diery. After our hikes in Slovenský raj, we were accustomed to clambering up ladders and chains. The scenery was interesting, with steep walls on both sides. Most of the time we were walking beside the creek, but occasionally the trail took us higher on the hillside to get us around an obstacle. In multiple places the ladders and platforms are necessary to make it possible to climb over obstacles in the gorge. At Pod Pálenicou, we were halfway up the Horné gorge. Ordinarily, I would opt to hike the entire distance, but the threat of midday rain was on my mind, plus we had to drive to Zakopane that afternoon. So we turned back at Pod Pálenicou, taking the green trail back to the mouth of the gorge. The green trail follows the rim of the Horné diery, but due to the density of trees, only occasionally can a hiker see down into the gorge below. At the end of the green trail is a steep hillside that is slick and muddy, with no easy way around it. The trail goes straight down the hillside, without switchbacks. We don't carry hiking poles, so there was no way for us to keep on footing as we slid down the slippery slope. I ended up landing on my butt and sliding in the mud. We walked north along the blue trial through Dolné diery. This is an easy hike, but still worth doing. At the northern of the gorge, the walls narrow impressively until there is just one crack in the towering rock. A long metal platform allows hikers to walk through the tight passage, with Hlboký Creek flowing just below. I wondered if in the spring melt if the creek waters wash away the metal bridge, or maybe the walkways are removed at the beginning of winter? We took the yellow trail up Nové diery. A series of ladders and bridges quickly elevated us up to the rim above Dolné. There is a viewpoint built onto the edge of the cliff, but due to the many trees, you can't see much down into Dolné gorge. From the viewpoint, it is an easy walk down the yellow trail, which ultimately took us all the way back to Štefanová. I took this photo of the map of the trail system in the Jánošíkové diery area. The arrows indicate the suggested direction for hiking in the gorges, if you follow the arrows, you will be climbing the ladders rather than descending on them. If all the hikers follow the arrows, you won't meet people coming the opposite direction, which slows down the hiking on busy days. They want you to hike south on the yellow trail thru Nové diery. Take the blue trail east thru Nové diery, and take the blue trail north thru Dolné diery. I think most hikers stick to the blue trail and hike up and down thru Dolné diery, skipping the other two gorges. There aren't any ladders in Dolné diery.
I detailed our hike on this map. We didn't go to the furthest eastern point of Dolné diery because we knew we had to drive to Zakopane this afternoon, and also I was worried that the predicted afternoon rains might begin to fall.
A write up of the Jánošíkové diery gorges. This is a website describing the gorges in the winter. Panorama Photos:
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Single Click on any thumbnail to begin the slide show at that photograph Terchova Photos 
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