Prosiecká and Kvačianska Valleys, the Oblazy Water Mills

Prosiecká Valley and the Červené piesky Waterfall

From the car park beyond Prosiek, follow the farm track that leads to the mouth of the scenic Prosiecká Valley. From there, the blue trail takes you into a narrow canyon with towering rock walls, while footbridges above the rushing stream make the passage easier. After leaving the canyon, the valley opens up, and after about an hour of walking you’ll reach a junction below a rock face. From here, an inconspicuous side path leads to the beautiful Červené piesky Waterfall.

Continuing on the blue trail, you’ll soon come to a low rock step that is easily climbed with the help of an iron ladder. This is followed by a narrow gorge with several ladders, and then a sloping rocky ledge fitted with a steel cable for support. From here it’s only a few more minutes to the Svorad junction (940 m) at the edge of the forest. Stay on the blue trail, first climbing gently and later almost on the level, across a meadow to a cross, behind which you’ll find a junction of farm tracks. Take the most worn track continuing straight ahead; from here it descends to Veľké Borové, and before long the surface turns to asphalt.

Veľké Borové and the Ráztocký Waterfall

Before reaching the village, go straight through the farm-track junction and continue with the agricultural cooperative on your left, descending gently until the paved road bends left. Continue straight across the meadow on the worn track to the first cottage, where you rejoin the asphalt road and follow it to the junction at Veľké Borové (820 m). Not far from the junction stands Borovec Inn, where you can stop for a meal or spend the night.

Continue on the blue trail along the paved road, which soon becomes a farm track and after about fifteen minutes brings you to the Borovianka Valley junction (795 m) just beyond the forest edge. From here, you descend gently for about half a kilometre, with a deep canyon on your left and rock walls on your right, until you reach the turnoff to the nearby Ráztocký Waterfall.

The Oblazy Mills

After visiting the waterfall, continue along the path over a wooden footbridge to a stone bridge. From there, a side path on the right leads to the restored early-19th-century water mills. The mills are open to the public, and you can also look inside.

Kvačianska Valley

From the stone bridge, continue uphill on the path. After a few metres, the blue trail turns right onto a forest path climbing to the Oblazy junction (800 m). Turn right onto the wide red-marked path. There is a spring in the first bend, and in the second bend the first of several viewpoints you’ll encounter along the way. These viewpoints offer beautiful views down to the valley floor far below and across to the opposite slopes and cliffs.

At first the path is gently undulating, but later it gradually descends to the bottom of the valley near its mouth by the paid car park beyond the village of Kvačany. At the edge of the car park, at the mouth of Kvačianska Valley junction (650 m), the red trail ends and the yellow trail begins. It first follows an asphalt road for about half a kilometre, then turns right onto a farm track, crosses the stream, and with a short steep climb brings you to a solitary house, in front of which you turn left onto a footpath.

From here, you need to pay closer attention to the trail markers for the next few kilometres, as the route changes direction frequently, alternating between meadows and forest. Later, it continues over rolling terrain along the edge of a meadow by the forest, with beautiful views of the Low Tatras and the Liptovská Mara reservoir. In the end, you descend to the mouth of Prosiecká Valley junction, where the hike began, turn left, and return to Prosiek.

Useful info

Transport

By car

To the paid car park (in 2024: €3/day) at the end of the village of Prosiek.

View on map

By bus

By bus from Liptovský Mikuláš to Prosiek.

Search connections

Itinerary

Prosiek mouth of Prosiecká Valley (0:10) Červené piesky (1:10) Červené piesky Waterfall (1:20) Červené piesky (1:30) Svorad (1:50) Veľké Borové (2:35) Borovianka Valley (2:50) Oblazy junction (3:10) mouth of Kvačianska Valley (3:55) mouth of Prosiecká Valley (5:15) Prosiek (5:25)

Water and refreshments along the way

Snack bar by the car park in Prosiek, Veľké Borové, a spring just beyond the Oblazy junction, snack bar at the car park by Kvačianska Valley

Alternatives

• The route can be hiked in either direction
• The route can also start/end in Veľké Borové, Kvačany, or on the edge of the village of Huty
• If you have enough time and energy, you can take the green trail from the Svorad junction up to the summit of Prosečné (1,372 m), then continue on the green trail back down to rejoin the described route at the Borovianka Valley junction, a short distance before the Oblazy water mills. This detour takes about 3 hours and involves roughly 550 metres of ascent.