Through Dubeň for a view of Žilina and Malá Fatra

The city of Žilina offers in its immediate vicinity a multitude of locations suitable for active leisure time. One of them is a walk up Dubeň, which almost every Žilina resident knows. It is undemanding on physical fitness, accessible to all age groups, and offers views where we can see the whole city as if on the palm of our hand. An added value will also be the view of Malá Fatra. Dubeň is such a small Žilina ridge hike, and the tourist trail marking is also in red, as is usual for "ridge hikes". I decided to go by bike and start the route at the Žilina Water Works. In a short time I got to Teplička nad Váhom, from where we have to overcome a small elevation gain along an asphalt road to reach the level of Dubeň. However, we need to be careful, especially if our group includes children, because this "shortcut" is also often used by cyclists coming down the opposite direction, who like to release the brakes a bit to enjoy the feeling of speed. It is therefore safe to keep to the right side of the asphalt path.

Once we overcome this climb, we turn left onto the road leading from Žilina to Zástranie and continue onto a forest trail that lines Dubeň from start to finish. It is a trail with a gentle, undemanding ascent, which turns into a descent after reaching the highest point. Our path is surrounded by avenues of trees, which create different feelings in every season and in the diversity of weather. Approximately two-thirds of the way, there is a 27m high observation tower with a view of the wide surroundings.