Elves in the Little Carpathians in Slovakia ⋆ Lifeguin

Hiking in the Little Carpathians

The Little Carpathians are not the biggest mountains in Slovakia, but they indeed have many beautiful places to discover. There is a lot to explore, from amazing views to hidden valleys, and this particular place has its own magic.

We were waddling around the forest when nature woke up from its winter slumber (finally, as our past tours were quite cold). As it was morning, it was cold. However, later in the day, when the sun came out, the temperature raised with it.

Our waddle:

Waddle duration: 3 hours and 20 minutes
Distance: 12,15 km (7,50 miles)
Route: Yellow&Red&Green
Map: link
Things to see: Kamenná brána (Stone gate), Traja jazdci (Three riders), Veľká Homola (The Great Homola)

Open on Mapy.com

Dirt path winding through the trees in the Little Carpathians — ***Hiking route***

Accessibility

You first have to get to Pezinok to “Kučišdorfská priehrada.” It is not too far from the capital Bratislava, and there is also the option of going by bus.

The overall journey to the starting point when coming by car is fast. The parking is simple – you find, you park. There is no official parking space dedicated, but a lot of space available to park the car. So find whatever you prefer.

Elevation over time waddled

The Waddle

This particular waddle was less about the views and more about the magical places we found on the way. I do believe the elves live here. I even think I saw one, but I will get to that part later. Let me start at the very beginning at the bottom.

The morning was brisk, and the sun just rose. It started to crawl between the trees, and all around, nature woke up. I always prefer the early morning hikes.

Sunlight filters through tall bare trees in the Little Carpathians forest

Sunlight filters through trees in the Little Carpathians forest during spring

In the area of the Little Carpathians, there are countless localities where the peaks and ridges of some hills are formed by various isolated rock formations and continuous ascents of massive Mesolithic rocks forming rock towns (where I believe the magic creatures reside).

Tall bare trees line a dirt path in the Little Carpathians under clear skies — ***A beautiful day for a hike.***

The day was promising, and we had a beautiful blue sky.

The trails were empty of any other human beings (nor any magical ones at the beginning), and we slowly progressed on our waddle, which was all uphill now. However, the excitement for the localities such as “Traja jazdci” and “Kamenná brána” grew with every step taken. Both locations are well accessible by hiking trail, which can be reached from several marked, but also unmarked ones. The hiking trails lead through the Little Carpathians or directly from the nearby towns of Modra and Pezinok.

The best part is that both locations are near “Veľká Homola,” which has a beautiful lookout tower.

Directional signs for cyclists in the Little Carpathians forest — ***Easy to navigate.***

A plush penguin toy explores the sunny forest trails of the Little Carpathians — ***I had to stop for a little photo shoot.***

Stone gate (Kamenná brána)

The Stone gate (Kamenná brána) is a hill 608 m above sea level that extends approximately 1 km (about 0,62 miles) southwest of the Veľká Homoľa hill. Several hiking trails lead to it. For example, it can be reached by turning off the green tourist route to the west at the crossroads at the Three Riders, but we came from the opposite direction.

Mossy rocks and bare trees under a clear blue sky in the Little Carpathians

A ridge consists of numerous larger or smaller rock formations that stretch along this hill in the form of various gates, towers, ruins, large massive boulders scattered on the top, and the slopes of the hill.

The town of rocks forms strange silhouettes, which emerge from the forest and resemble, in some places, the ruins of an ancient medieval fortress. Some resemble the houses of elves, where sometimes you can feel watched or see a small shadow in the corner of your eye, and if you look close enough, you might see a fairy.

Mossy rocks sit among fallen brown leaves in the Little Carpathians

From the geological point of view, we can assign the rocks protruding on the ridge to the Triassic quartzites, quartz sandstones, and conglomerates, but the unique magic feeling is the moss on them. It makes them look soft, but they are far from it.

Mossy rocks and fallen leaves on a slope in the Little Carpathians

Collage of mossy rocks and bare trees in the Little Carpathians — ***The whole hill is magnificent.***

Plush penguin wearing a bandana sits on a mossy rock in the Little Carpathians — ***Can you spot the fairies?***

Toy penguin Miško in a collage of rocky outcrops in the Little Carpathians

Three Riders (Traja jazdci)

We took a short break and the usual serving of morning coffee and croissants (very luxurious these hikes of ours, but one must keep the food coming if we do not want to lose the fat).

Dry grass covers a hillside under a clear blue sky in the Little Carpathians

Soon we waddled on to the next stop – Three Riders, which are located northwest of the town of Modra, lying on the western slope of the hill Veľká Homola (709 m above sea level).

A plush penguin wearing a bandana sits behind two penguin-themed cups in the forest — ***Morning coffee is a must.***

You can reach The Three Riders by many of the trails – either from Pezinok or Modra along the red, green, and blue tourist route or Zochova cottage from the locality of “Piesok” to the south around “Tisový skály” along the red tourist sign leading over the “Veľká Homoľa” hill.

The location of the Three Riders (687 m above sea level) consists of massive rock cliffs rising steeply on the western ridge of “Veľká Homola .” The rocks are light gray, sometimes almost soft gray-pink.

Bare trees stand before large rock formations in the Little Carpathians

Jagged rock formations rise against a clear blue sky in the Little Carpathians

Hiking trail signs point the way through the Little Carpathians in Slovakia

Sunlight shines through bare trees beside a rocky cliff in the Little Carpathians

Read also: Hiking near Pezinok

A plush toy looks up at a rocky cliff in the Little Carpathians

Three hikers ascend a rocky trail in the sunny Little Carpathians

This area is one of the most popular tourist destinations. It is also a popular stop for relaxing during longer and more demanding waddle. The rock formations are also a popular and frequently visited place for rock climbers who use them as training rocks.

Great Homola (Veľká Homola)

Bright sun shines over the rolling hills of the Little Carpathians — ***View from “Veľká Homola”***

As mentioned already, not far from the magnificent rocks is the lookout “Veľká Homola,” which belongs to the highest prospects in Slovakia. It was built in 2018 and thus replaced the previous lookout tower, which stood in the same place. We also visited the lookout during summer; the lookout was amazing. However, beware of the wind.

View of rolling forested hills from the Great Homola Lookout Tower

Rolling hills covered in bare trees under a clear blue sky in the Little Carpathians

From the top, we saw that someone had made a snail out of stones, which inspired us to create penguins. These are also the first ones we made, but now you can find penguins made of rocks in various locations.

Rocks arranged to look like a snail on the forest floor in the Little Carpathians

Two penguin shapes made of grey stones resting on the forest floor

A plush penguin sits beside two penguin shapes made of stacked stones — ***First penguins made.***

After the lookout, it was back to the starting point, but also, on the way back, it was a bliss to waddle. The weather was perfect, with no wind and the sun getting higher and higher.