The educational trail is situated in the cadastral territory of Švošov, 14 km away from the centre of Ružomberok. It leads from the western part of the town, through the woods, and it ends at the entry to the eastern part of the town.

The trail runs through wooded terrain along old woodland paths, which lead through interesting locations below the rock massifs of Havran and the steep slopes of Ostré (Ostrô hill). Along the trail, you will learn something about the history of the town of Švošov and about what is located and what lives and grows in its cadastral territory.

The trail starts at the entry to the woods, at “Skalky” Street. It is located less than 500 metres away from the train stop called “Švošov”, at which you can find a panel about the educational trail including the map of the trail. The first panel of the educational trail informs us about the history of Švošov. The trail leads us through the woods, slightly uphill, to the yellow-marked hiking trail running through the rock massif of Havran. At the place where we get on this trail, we go to the right, to another educational panel, which informs us about the fish living in the Váh River. It is the river that runs through the town of Švošov. The trail leads us below the sides of Havran and we are passing by more panels, about geology and trees. The path to the next panel, about insects, leads through somewhat steeper rising terrain. We are passing by wooden bridges, near which there is a spring. After a short while, we come to another panel, about amphibians and reptiles. We walk down to the yellow-marked hiking trail leading from the town of Švošov to hill Ostré (called Ostrô or Hrdoš by the local people), however, we do not continue on this trail but we get off of it after a few metres, where we get on the path running downhill on the left. Navigating us to the right path, below Ostré hill, is another panel, this time about flowers. At this place, there is another spring, “Studnička pod Hrdošom”, and a bench where we can rest. We walk down the path to the panel about wild berries and we continue to the panel about mammals, which is located on a meadow with a view of the Great Fatra. To the left, we can see Sidorovo peak, Haliny, Plieška, Tlstá Hora, Červený Grúň and Kútnikov hill. We continue to the intersection, where we take a right turn down a steep slope, along a broken-down woodland path, which will lead us past a shelter with benches to the end of the educational trail with the last panel, about birds. From here, we walk down the hill to the houses and continue through the town back to our starting point. The way from the end of the educational trail to train stop “Švošov” is less than 2 km long.

After you have finished the educational trail, you can use the tavern situated directly in the town of Švošov, or the restaurant establishments in the nearby towns of Hubová (on the other bank of the Váh River) and Ľubochňa (less than 3 km away).

– The texts on the panels of the educational trail are in Slovak language.
– At two places, the educational trial crosses with the yellow hiking trail.
– You can walk the trail in both directions, but we recommend you to follow the direction which is described here.
– You can walk the trail in winter as well, however, you need to take into account that it is a lot more difficult to navigate and move in the terrain covered with snow.
– The educational trail is approximately 6 km long and it takes approximately 2.5 hours. To this time, you need to add the time needed for getting to the start of the trail and back from the end of the trail.
– Along the entire path, the trail is marked with blue marking of an educational trail (a white square with a diagonal blue line inside).
– As the trail runs mostly along woodland paths and through woodland terrain, it is not suitable for the youngest visitors. We do not recommend hiking on this trail with kids under the age of 10.
– Along the trail, you will find places with a bench, where you can rest.
– Some of the woodland paths you will be passing through are used for wood processing, therefore pay increased attention there.
– In the woods, behave in the way that will not disturb its inhabitants, do not damage anything, do not pick anything or leave anything in the woods.
– The most dangerous section of the trail is the steep descent to the last panel on the educational trail.
– After the rain, the path is usually waterlogged, muddy and slippery.

Transport:
By car: There are several parking options in the vicinity of train stop “Švošov”.
By train: From train stop “Švošov” it is approximately a 7-minute walk to the start of the trail.
By bus: You can ride a bus from the bus station in Ružomberok to the bus stop called “Hubová ,,pri moste”, from where you need to cross the bridge for pedestrians to the other bank of the Váh River. It is approximately a 10-minute walk to the start of the trail.
By taxi: Taxi from the centre of the town will cost you about 15€.