Oravská Lesná: Hotels, Narrow-Gauge Railway and Winter Sports

The Oravská lesná železnica is one of the few surviving narrow-gauge switchback railways in the world and is considered a unique technical monument.

Culture

At Tanečník Station, the Remeselný dom presents various crafts typical of Orava. The Roman Catholic Church of St. Anne in Oravská Lesná was built in 1914 in the Art Nouveau style and is designated a national cultural monument. The Madonna and Child statue is also a national cultural monument. It was erected in Oravská Lesná in 1820 as a votive offering after the end of a plague epidemic.

The Chapel of Divine Mercy stands on the site of Oravská Lesná’s first wooden church, which was built in 1739 and dedicated to Saint Anne. A Stations of the Cross was built and consecrated next to the Chapel of the Seven Sorrows of the Virgin Mary in 2022. At Sedlo Beskyd Station, the “Gorali včera a dnes” exhibition presents the lifestyle and housing of the Gorals. It also covers traditional Goral folk architecture, their costumes, calendar customs and family traditions.

The Oravská lesná železnica is connected to Oravská Lesná by an approximately six-kilometre-long paved side road. The journey to the Sedlo Beskyd mountain station covers three kilometres and takes approximately 15 to 20 minutes. Near the station, a viewing tower offers panoramic views of the Orava landscape. The observation tower is open year-round to visitors and passing hikers, has three floors and is 12 metres high.

Nature

The Oravská Lesná Nature Trail begins in the centre of Oravská Lesná and offers three walking routes. The Nature Trail features 40 information boards on natural history, forestry and nature conservation. The Oravská Lesná Forestry Nature Trail is more than four kilometres long. Route 1 of the Oravská Lesná Nature Trail is accessible to people with disabilities, bicycles and pushchairs.

The recommended route to the Chapel of the Seven Sorrows of the Virgin Mary can be covered by bicycle in approximately 45 minutes. Access by car to remote destinations in the forest, including the Chapel of the Seven Sorrows of the Virgin Mary, is prohibited; they should be visited by bicycle.

Winter Sports

The Orava Snow winter sports centre in Oravská Lesná has two lifts and seven pistes with a total length of 8.5 kilometres. Orava Snow also has five kilometres of cross-country skiing trails. Lyžiarska škola Yeti offers skiing and snowboarding lessons for children and adults, as well as beginners and advanced skiers.

Stargazing

At Hvezdáreň u pána Mojmíra in Oravská Lesná, visitors can observe stars and, under exceptional circumstances, planets. Hvezdáreň u pána Mojmíra has several astronomical telescopes, including the largest amateur astronomy telescope in Slovakia and the second-largest telescope in Slovakia. Visits for school classes or groups of visitors must be arranged in advance.

For more local pages, you can visit Bobrov, Námestovo, Zákamenné, Sihelne, Mútne, Rabčice, Oravská Polhora, Oravské Veselé.

For the overview of the wider area: Námestovo District.