Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
317 km from Dolný Kubín to Dolný Kubín, about 6 h 19 of riding. On the way it passes Wooden Churches of the Slovak part of the, Church of the Archangel Michael, Church of St Leonard and back through Church of the Archangel Michael. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 850 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. It crosses from Slovakia into Poland - carry ID and check vignette or toll rules. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
Scenic road chapters
Polish Tatra Road
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 65 km this is Polish Tatra Road, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
Length
65 km
Named road
Polish Tatra Road
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Leštiny
Leštiny is a small village in the Orava region of northern Slovakia, a short distance from Dolný Kubín, and its pride is a wooden Lutheran church that looks, from outside, more like a large farmhouse than a place of worship. This is one of the articular churches, built under strict conditions imposed in the late seventeenth century, and it is part of the World Heritage Site of Wooden Churches of the Slovak part of the Carpathian Mountain Area, inscribed in 2008.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Leštiny is where the day begins. Next is Wooden Churches of the Slovak part of the.
2. Wooden Churches of the Slovak part of the
The Church of All Saints in Tvrdošín, at the edge of the town in the Orava valley, is a wooden Gothic church from the fifteenth century, built of larch and fir, with a shingled roof, a tower with a distinctive spire and a painted interior, and it is one of the oldest of the wooden churches listed as a World Heritage Site in Slovakia. Its Renaissance and Baroque decorations, including a carved altar and paintings, were added over the centuries.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Wooden Churches of the Slovak part of the comes up about 39 km into the recorded legs. Next is Church of the Archangel Michael.
3. Church of the Archangel Michael
From the outside, the church in Dębno Podhalańskie looks like a sturdy wooden barn with a steep shingled roof and a squat tower, the kind of building you might ride past without a second glance. Step inside and the walls explode with colour: every surface covered in stencilled and painted patterns, animals, plants and geometric figures, dating back to around 1500, one of the best-preserved medieval painted interiors in Poland. The church, built of larch in the late fifteenth century, is part of the UNESCO listing of Wooden Churches of Southern Małopolska, a group of Gothic timber churches that show the skill of local carpenters who built without nails.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 104 km into the recorded legs you reach Church of the Archangel Michael. Next is Church of St Leonard.
4. Church of St Leonard
The hills around Limanowa in southern Poland have a nickname that suits them perfectly: the Beskid Wyspowy, the Island Beskids. Instead of forming a continuous ridge, the summits rise individually from the surrounding valleys like islands from a sea, each one wooded, rounded and separate. Driving through the area is a constant game of spotting the next hump on the horizon. The famous wooden church of St Leonard stands at Lipnica Murowana, in the hills to the north of here, and it is one of the Wooden Churches of Southern Lesser Poland listed by UNESCO in 2003.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Leštiny closes the day.
Leg by leg
Leštiny to Wooden Churches of the Slovak part of the
Leštiny → Wooden Churches of the Slovak part of the is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Wooden Churches of the Slovak part of the to Church of the Archangel Michael
Wooden Churches of the Slovak part of the → Church of the Archangel Michael is 65 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Church of the Archangel Michael to Church of St Leonard
Church of the Archangel Michael → Church of St Leonard is 55 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Church of St Leonard to back through Church of the Archangel Michael
Church of St Leonard → back through Church of the Archangel Michael is 55 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Church of the Archangel Michael to back through Wooden Churches of the Slovak part of the
back through Church of the Archangel Michael → back through Wooden Churches of the Slovak part of the is 65 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Wooden Churches of the Slovak part of the to Lestiny
back through Wooden Churches of the Slovak part of the → Lestiny is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.