FUN Aréna and Bike Park Donovaly
You must not overlook our modern center Fun Arena at Donovaly with bobsleigh track, climbing wall, trampolines and bouncy castle for children. Bobsleigh track in the immediate vicinity of the Telemix ropeway was built in 2008 as the second toboggan track of its type in Slovakia. Thanks to its profile, which offers 11 sharp turns and 7 jumps on special carts it is an ideal attraction for the small and big ones.
Bungee trampoline is certainly one of the most sought-after attractions in the Donovaly amusement park. Thanks to ingenious construction you can jump 7 m high. Except for this an 8 place trampoline is available, on which your children can jump as much as they way. For downhill enthusiasts there is Bike Park Donovaly in Nová hoľa opened during the summer. With length of 2100 meters and overall superelevation of 420 meters it is one of the best and longest parks in Slovakia, which will thoroughly test your skills.
Donovalkovo
Enter the town where 17 houses are waiting for you to fall into the children’s world. The interactive park for families at Donovaly welcomes children from 2 years old and offers space for a day full of fun and creativity. Animators in Donovalkovo co-ordinates and teach children what to do in the event of fire, how to handle money, separate waste or refuel a car.
In addition to the buildings and facilities, authentic costumes are also prepared for a perfect experience for all visitors. Donovalkovo has mini farm with various animals, who are waiting for small farmers to pet them,
feed them and take care of them. Another feature is special road with signs and small electric cars where children can learn the rules of road traffic and acquire their first driving license!
Tiny Mouse Children’s Park
The Donovaly Fun Arena adrenaline centre expanded during the summer of 2017 with a unique novelty for Slovakia – a children’s aqua experience-educational park with 9 attractions, which follow one another and form one whole experience.
In addition to the ever popular Dobšinský fairy tale world of Habakuky and another new attraction “Donovalkovo”, the town with its mini-farm and children’s transport playground, is the Tiny Mouse Children’s Park, another great place to visit that you definitely cannot miss when you visit Donovaly with your tiny tots!
Donovaly Brewery
Donovaly brewery was born in the beautiful but rugged mountains of central Slovakia. His life began with brave and yet so simple commitment: Brew honest and unique beer from the begining.
A unique addition to the cozy brewery and restaurant is Bakery and Café with special atmosphere. For mountain lovers our brewery brings a specific set of beers, which each one is very special.
Hiking
Tens of tourist routes around Donovaly lie in the territory of two national parks Veľká Fatra and Nízke Tatry. They offer beautiful panorama views, nature reserves and natural landmarks, which no visitor should miss.
During the summer tourist season you can get to the top of Nová hola using a modern combined 6-seat ropeway and thus enjoy the beautiful view of Nízke Tatry and Veľká Fatra. With suitable weather and great visibility you can even see the top of Kriváň.
Cycling
More than 375 kilometers of marked and fully rideable bike routes is a guarantee that bikes won’t get bored at Donovaly. They are split into several categories based on difficulty so everyone can choose. The routes are marked in such a way that families with children, seniors and sport bikers as well should manage them in 1 – 8 hours of biking.
You don’t have a way to get your bikes to Donovaly? No problem. At our reception we will gladly rent you our quality mountain bikes, which are regularly serviced and maintain in order to meet the requirements of even the more demanding bikers. During the summer season you can also use a cyclobus from Banská Bystrica directly to Donovaly only for €1. You can find more information on bike routes at our webpage www.cyklodonovaly.sk
PARK SNOW Donovaly
Ski resort PARK SNOW Donovaly offers a unique experience. Excellent skiing conditions with tracks for slalom, downhill or cross-country skiing are prepared for all lovers of winter sports. Snowboarders can enjoy themselves as well in a park with several obstacles, rails and even the possibility of adrenaline free ride that are prepared for them.
You can find here several rentals of complete ski and snowboard equipment and ski services, where a helpful personnel always helps you and prepares skies of top quality.
FUN PARK – detská škola
The second biggest children FUN PARK in middle Europe is only a couple of tens of meters from the Villa GARDENIA. With the help of modern conveyors and trained instructors children will learn how to ski without any fear or stress.
Children up to 3 years of age thus learn how to ski in a fun way in a park full of games, competitions and great atmosphere.
Riders Park
If you love adrenaline you have to visit our Riders Park fine tuned with our crew for perfect conditions.
We intend to keep the standard of the park at the highest level for the whole season, so don’t hesitate, get on down here!
Dobšinsky fairytale world
Children and adults as well will experience unforgettable atmosphere in Dobšinský fairytale world HABAKUKY, opened daily with program from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. You can find here houses in the style of folk-fantasy architecture with dominant Škrupina castle with lake, amphitheater or mall with adequate name KÚRNIK ŠHOPA SENTER.
Except for this you can find here magical houses of various shapes and names like Čierne mesto, Hodovňa, Železná hora, domček Proroka Raka and others. Famous Slovak fairy-tales Loktibrada or Popolvár will pull you in their original atmosphere and will provide a unique and authentic experience for the whole family.
Another attraction is also the unique means of payment, the HABAKUKY (HBK) coins, which you can take home as a souvenir. You can exchange them for Euros in special ATM machines – “habodajoch” at the Dušička kelpie.
Harmanecká jaskyňa
The cave Harmanecká jaskyňa is situated in the mountainside Kremnické vrchy, approximately 23 km away from Donovaly and 15 km from Banská Bystrica. Its name is derived from the nearby municipality Harmanec. The cave was declared a protected natural creation in 1968, later changing its status to protected natural monument, which it has retained until today. It was formed in two levels in dark grey limestones of the Middle Triassic.
The underground space consists of passages but halls and domes are to be found there too. The whole cave is decorated with formations of all kinds, such as white pagodas and cave-wall waterfalls. Particularly noteworthy are small lakes with their rare cave pearls. The length of the cave Harmanecká jaskyňa is 2,763 m; the part accessible for the public stretches to around 1,000 m. The cave’s temperature is 6 °C and humidity is close to 97 %. Several species of cave bats are also to be observed here. Photos: Juloml
Korytnica
The Korytnica spa is situated around 6 km away from Donovaly and constitutes a part of the Liptovská Osada municiaplity. The tradition of spa-related activities has a long history in Korytnica and goes back to the 16th century. As the only European mineral water, it was awarded at an US exhibition and won several awards also at an exhibition in Vienna in the past. A narrow-gauge railway used to be in service from Ružomberok to Korytnica until 1974. The spa hosted, apart from other famous personalities, also the emperor Franz Joseph and the leader of the Slovak national revival, Ľudovít Štúr. Following the spa’s privatisation in the 90’s of the previous century, it gradually started to deteriorate. This lead to the final closure of the spa.
At present, the premises are in decay and the only exception is a mineral water filler. The public may access just one spring named Jozef. The remaining 6 springs are not accessible. An interesting fact is that the water stemming from the spring called Vojtech, with a temperature of only 5.4 °C, is designated as the coldest mineral water from all the Slovak springs. Photos: Mgr. Ing. Jozef Kotulič, Xtrodinary
Vlkolínec
The submontane village Vlkolínec is approximately 28 km away from Donovaly and 6 km from the district town Ružomberok. It is a historical reservation of folk architecture and has been listed in the UNESCO World Heritage Properties since 1993 as a remarkably undisturbed and well preserved mountain settlement consisting of typical log-houses of a characteristic Central-European type. The village represents a type of medieval settlement with wooden architecture of montane and submontane regions with undisturbed built-up area with log houses in the middle of country hinterlands formed by narrow field lines and pastures, protected by a massif formation Sidorovo from the north.
According to a plan dating back to the 50’s of the 20th century after World War II, the residents of Vlkolínec were to be relocated to Ružomberok. The reason for that were the requirements of the residents to improve the life conditions, which should have been comparable to other parts of the Ružomberok town. The relocation, however, never took place, thus it is still possible to observe the countryside life in the middle of the traditional log-house architecture. Photos: Juloml, Podzemnik, Maros Mraz
Špania dolina
The mining municipality Špania dolina is located approximately 20 km away from Donovaly and 11 km from Banská Bystrica. Its deposits of cupriferous ore, also containing silver, were famous all around Europe. Mining in this area dates back to the 11th century. It currently offers beautiful and undisturbed montane environment rich in historical sights. Also located in the municipality, kostol Premenenia Pána (the Church of the Lord’s Transfiguration), is an originally Romanesque construction, rebuilt to Gothic style later in 1254. The very same year was also marked by the church’s consecration to a Roman Catholic presbytery church. You can walk from the square to the church down roofed stairs. One of the buildings holds a sun clock.
A shaft pile offers a lovely view of the surrounding mountains. Numerous paths of the mining educational trail will guide the tourists through famous spots of the mining history. The mountain terrain with moderate difficulty level will lead you through the hidden shafts and roads in the neighbouring forests. The sloping mountain tracks in the surroundings form ideal routes for mountain biking in summer and for cross-country skiing in winter. Photos: Patrik Kunec a Pe3kZA
