How long do Jánošíkove diery take and how hard is the route?

Distances in the gorges are misleading. The five kilometres of the small loop look like a stroll on paper, but ladders, footbridges and wet rocks slow you down more than the climbing does. Here are the times for each section and each loop, and what decides whether you will be faster or slower.

How long each section takes

• Dolné diery: about an hour, the easiest part, with two waterfalls between 1 and 3.5 m high.
• Nové diery: an hour to an hour and a half, moderate, with four smaller waterfalls and ladders in quick succession. They can only be walked uphill.
• Horné diery: roughly two hours, the hardest part, with nine waterfalls between 2 and 4 m high and ladders, some of which are 12 to 15 m tall. They too are one-way, uphill only.

These are rough times at a normal pace without long breaks.

How long the loops take

• The nature trail from Štefanová: a loop through Dolné and Nové diery with ten boards, about 3 km in total with 185 m of ascent.
• The small loop: 5 km, 210 m of ascent, two and a half to three hours.
• The big loop: 12 km, 768 m of ascent, about five hours.
• The gorges and Veľký Rozsutec: the loop from Štefanová is about 10 km with 1,050 m of ascent and takes around five and a half hours of walking. Details in Veľký Rozsutec in autumn.

Why distance is not the point

What makes the gorges hard is the terrain, not the height gain. In Nové and Horné diery the ladders come one after another, the wooden footbridges run just above the water and everything near the waterfalls is wet. In many places you use your hands, so a group moves more slowly than on a forest path with the same climb.

In summer and at weekends there is waiting as well. People climb the narrow ladders one at a time, and when it is busy, queues form at the bottom. The rough times do not allow for that.

It also matters that Nové diery is one-way. Once you enter from Ostrvné you carry on uphill to Podžiar and do not come back that way. If you are unsure, start with Dolné diery, where you can turn round at any point.

Who can manage which option

• Families with children and older walkers: the small loop. Hiking portals recommend it for young children too, and Hotel Diery gives a minimum age of about four. Pushchairs cannot get into the gorges.
• Regular hikers: the big loop, if they can manage five hours on foot and climbs on ladders.
• People afraid of heights: start with Dolné diery; the highest ladders are in Horné diery.
• Dogs: hiking portals advise against taking a dog into the gorges, and the steep metal ladders of Horné diery are completely unsuitable for dogs.

When the route takes longer

• After rain: wet footbridges and rocks, more water in the falls. In heavy rain Horné diery can become impassable.
• In autumn: leaves on the footbridges and shorter days. More in Jánošíkove diery in autumn.
• In winter: icy ladders and paths, so you need microspikes and poles. Horné diery are often impassable in winter.

How to plan the day

A morning is enough for the small loop, which leaves the afternoon for lunch or another trip. The big loop takes a full day. Set off early: there are fewer people in the gorges in the morning, and in summer you avoid the afternoon storms that hiking portals warn about. Plan to be back in daylight; ladders at dusk are not a good idea.

From Chata Ranto in Nižné Kamence it is ten minutes by car to the car park in Biely Potok. Where to park and where to start is covered in Jánošíkove diery: where to park, and the full overview of routes is in our guide to the gorges.