Tourist information
Route Javorník
The Javoríky ridge is a picturesque area on the border between Slovakia and the Czech Republic that is interesting in terms of its nature, culture and history. The settlement of this territory does not date back far into the distant past. Nevertheless, its history is indelibly inscribed in the physical features of the local Walachian landscape. For its uniqueness the area has been included into two protected landscape areas – Kysuce and Beskydy. What is typical of this territory is a mosaic structure of landscape with scattered settlements, meadows, pastureland and forests.
Tourist route Javorník forms a 16 kilometre-long circle. There are five stopping places where you can refresh yourself in the resting area as well as you can gain more information about Papradnianska valley and Javorníky Mountains. The starting point of the route is Papradno village where you take the direction towards Slovak – Czech border. Podjavorník is the first stopping place with the resting area and it is followed by the stopping place Veľký Javorník which represents the highest peak of the Javorníky edge (1071 meters above sea level). On the next stopping place on Stratenec hill you can admire beautiful view of the surrounding from the new tourist look-out tower. Marked walkway will pass to the stopping place Bukovina through spectacular nature and will reach the last stopping place of the route - Malý Javorník.
Surely you will have satisfying feeling from active relax, magnificent nature and great experience on the way back.
Nature
The Javorníky are part of the flysch belt of the West Carpathians with the highest peak of Veľký Javorník (1071 meters above sea level), which is to be found on the territory of the Slovak Republic. Most of the mountain ridge is covered with grass, which enables a beautiful view of the Czech Republic. The neighboring Malý Javorník reaches 1019 meters above sea level.
Pastureland and meadows on the mountain ridges, which were created by man for the purpose of making livelihood, provide beautiful views of the surrounding mountain range. Meadow biotopes form a colorful mosaic in the Walachian landscape. Meadows and pastureland are rich in flower plants, including healing herbs. There is an occurrence of several protected and endangred plant species in the area: for example, some species of the orchid family, which are very vulnerable and, therefore, require special conditions, the snowdrop Galanthus nivalis, the European columbine Aquilegia vulgaris, and the sword-lily Gladiolus imbricatus.
Mushrooming is also very popular in the area. Besides common species of funghi, there is an occurrence of some rare ones, for example, in the mountain fir-beech primaeval forest Razula.
The fauna of the Javorníky ridge is unusually varied and is a result of the evolution that the local landscape has gone through. Today the remains of virgin forests are home to a large number of animals that have become extinct in other parts of Central Europe, e.g. the white-backed woodpecker Dendrocopos leucotos, one of the endangered songbirds – the red-breasted flycatcher Ficedula parva, the black woodpecker Dryocopus martius, the stock pigeon Columba oenas, the Eurasian pygmy-owl Glaucidium passerinum and others.