This is the first route in a series of 9 journeys through Slovakia. The rides are structured in such a way that riding them gives you a good idea of the diversity of the country. You drive through various nature parks, over impressive mountain peaks and beautiful plains. Thanks to the many sights along the way, you will learn more about the rich Slovak history and culture.

This first ride starts from Devín and takes you via the Little Carpathians to Banska Stiavnica. The route is one to get your teeth set ... Or are the teeth set in you?

The journey starts in one of Bratislava's districts, Devín. Hotel U Srnčíka is a great base to start the holiday. From here you can easily explore Bratislava and have an excellent opportunity to visit the castle ruins of Devín. The National Monument provided a perfectly strategic position to defend the area where the Danube and Morava meet.

You can also climb the Devínska Kobyla (514m) from Devín via a 4 km long hiking trail. The area on and around this mountain is of paleontological value: here and there you can encounter fossils. The path will take you to a spot just off the top, because there is an abandoned military missile base there. Despite this, you can, in clear weather, enjoy the beautiful views of the Danube, Austria and Hungary.

In the morning your route mainly goes through the Little Carpathians (Malé Karpaty). Initially you will drive north along the west side of the mountain range, to turn East at the village of Pernek and make the climb to the highest drivable point in the Little Carpathians, at about 530m. The view of the mountain pass changes abruptly as soon as you drive out of the forest on the east side. For the next few kilometers you have a view of the abundance of vines along the route.

Slovakia is known for the most castles, fortresses and palaces in the world. If you feel like it, you can visit several castles today. The first castle along the route is Červený kameň. In the village of the same name you can deviate from the route to visit the attraction. Like the castle in Devín, the castle was built in the early 14th century. Červený kameň is one of many castles built to serve as part of the Hungarian kingdom's defense line. From the 17th century until WWII, the castle was owned by the Hungarian noble family Pálffy. Today it is a museum.

Not long after that you arrive in Smolenice. Here you can take a break at Restaurant Havran and possibly visit Smolenický Castle. Again this castle was owned by the Pálffy family. Like the previous castle, Pálffy transferred the castle to the state just after WWII. The castle is within walking distance of the restaurant.

After this coffee stop, the route continues through the Little Carpathians. Slowly you arrive at the north side of this mountain range, on the hill of General Milan Rastislav Štefánik. A good moment to stretch your legs and visit the monument of the founder of Czechoslovakia. You also have a spectacular view of the surrounding mountains and valleys from here.

Before you enter the lowlands, you can visit a castle. In Čachtice you turn into a dead end road in the direction of Castle Čachtický. From the parking lot, you can walk to this spine-chilling castle in about 20 minutes. Don't forget to cover your neck properly. This castle is best known for a notorious resident: Elizabeth Bathory. A gruesome habit of this Hungarian countess has most likely served as inspiration for Bram Stokers' character Dracula. As the daughter of a Transylvanian prince, she married a Hungarian nobleman and moved into the castle in Čachtice. Here Elizabeth became convinced that the blood of young girls could offer her eternal youth. This conviction has earned her the title of "greatest serial killer of all time". Only after killing more than 600 girls (and drinking their blood, among other things) she was caught and walled up alive in her own castle. Her remains are on an unknown person. buried place You can walk around (neck) with peace of mind ... right?

After this chilling visit you descend to the warmer lowlands of the river Váh. At 406 km, this is the longest river in Slovakia. You cross this river at the Sĺňava Reservoir, one of the many reservoirs on the river.

On the edge of the Ponitrie protected nature reserve, you can take a break at Salaš Kostrín. This restaurant is a bit hidden, but that makes it all the more charming. On the terrace you can relax after the adventurous ride.

The spiky part of this route just keeps on coming. Not only Dracula's teeth and pointed castle towers, but also the sharp horns of bison (bison) can be seen today. Topoľčianky has had a site with wisents since the 1950s. By 1930 this special bison was almost extinct. Partly thanks to the breeding programs (such as in Topoľčianky) the population is growing again.

The last part of your ride passes through the Štiavnické vrchy Nature Park. The mountains here consist mainly of volcanic rock. Because the rock contains a lot of silver, many silver mines arose around the city of Banská Štiavnica. In the 17th century, the mines reached both their lowest point and their height. The mines went so deep into the ground that the shafts filled with groundwater. Animal and manpower was deployed in an attempt to pump out these shafts. The costs for this were so high that it was decided from Vienna to close the mines. Fortunately, a smart entrepreneur came up with a solution through the Tajchy. In the course of the 17th and 18th centuries, a complex system of about 60 tajchy (reservoirs) was created, connected by more than 100km of canals and tunnels. This system provided the mines with energy to keep the shafts dry. Today only 24 Tajchy have been preserved and are now protected as UNESCO Heritage Sites.

Thanks to this special system, prosperity continued to flourish in the town of Banská Štiavnica. The enormous knowledge and experience in the field of mining also ensured that the first Technical University in the world was founded here.

The current route travels through Banská Štiavnica to one of the area's tajchys: the upper reservoir of Banská Hodruša. Here you can spend the night at Chata Hodruša and enjoy the peace and quiet in the nature park. If you feel like exploring the culture-rich city center of Banská Štiavnica, you can spend the night in hotel Salamander, for example. From here, the city center and its attractions are within walking distance.