Horné Považie is known not only for Považský Castle and its feeling for folklore, but also for its beautiful nature, which attracts tourists from all over Slovakia. In the large reader poll of the Closest Heart, announced by the regional tourism organization (KOCR) Trenčín region, Manínska and Kostolecká strait won 1st place in the category of natural localities and 4th place among all nominated facilities with 477 votes.

The chairman of the Slovak Tourist Club Manín, Považská Teplá, Pavol Uriča told us more about this popular locality in an interview.

1. What do you consider to be the greatest uniqueness of this natural site?

The Manín Strait is the narrowest canyon in Slovakia, through which the access asphalt road passes. It connects the village behind its rock cliffs - Záskalie, Kostolec, Vrchteplá with the district town of Považská Bystrica. In its womb, the Church Strait again hides the highest rock overhang in Slovakia - the Church Dome.

2. How can the awareness and traffic of this site be further increased? Are you preparing events, joint tourism?

After changing the owner of the caravan park, the new owner, in cooperation with other nature lovers, will arrange the rental of electric scooters, small refreshments, souvenir sales, accommodation and camping. The Manín Tourist Board, Považská Teplá usually organizes the Jilemnický jarná 25ka tourist march in April. It is one of the most visited organized tourist events in the whole of Slovakia. Attendance is above average.

So far, 43 years have been organized, which were attended by a total of 77,680 registered participants, which represents an average participation of 1,807 nature lovers. Since 1996, the event has been part of the international calendar of tourist events. During this period, 2,088 foreign tourists took part in our tourist march, which corresponds to the average participation of 87 of these participants. In 2020, due to pandemic measures, the continuous cycle was interrupted.

We did not manage to organize the march either in due time or in the alternative term. We all believe that in 2021 we will be able to organize the event in an alternative date, July 25, 2021.

3. What can be seen and experienced in this place?

There are several ways to get to this site. There is a railway station in Považská Teplá and a red tourist sign starts here passing through the localities to the village of Vrchteplá, from where it is only a jump (approx. 1 hour) to another jewel of Slovakia - Súľovské skály, which also includes Súľov Castle and Dračia Jaskyňa. Visitors coming from more distant regions after the performance in Považská Bystrica can use, in addition to the passenger train, also suburban bus transport in the direction of Vrchteplá, or in the direction of Plevník - Drienové and Bytča. The city bus transport also runs to Považská Teplá.

There is also the possibility to come directly from Považská Bystrica after the tourist sign to the Manín Strait with the possibility of climbing to the dominant of the Manín Hills - Veľký Manín with a number of beautiful views. The Partizánska Cave is accessible on the side ridge, or a rock window a short distance above it.

From Aucamping in the Manín Strait, there is a marked hiking trail to the aforementioned Veľký Manín, or the Nature Trail. In the village Považská Teplá itself, there is a garden villa, in which the writer Martin Kukučín lived in the years 1922 -1923.

Above the village of Kostolec are Bosmany, another accessible natural creation of Slovakia. There is a former school where Peter Jilemnický taught from 1932 to 1936. The dominant feature of the village of Vrchteplá is a monument to the partisans who worked in these areas and laid down their lives for our freedom. In the former Primary School there is a Memorial Room commemorating this armed uprising.

We also think of cyclists. The mentioned localities are connected by routes also for these nature lovers. However, climbers and ski mountaineers will also enjoy themselves.

4. Is there any interesting thing from the historical barrel that ordinary visitors / tourists do not know about in connection with this locality?

In the original railway station, Peter Jilemnický and his visitors had a separate room with the possibility of sleeping before going to school in Kostolec. The current access road was literally shot with explosives only in 1933. Until then, you could only walk along the creek bed - on foot. The Furman car did not pass in the narrowest places. Everything was carried by hand across the strait.

5. Surely various stories related to the strain have been collected for you during that time. Will you share with us at least the one that stuck in your memory the most?

Avalanches are also part of the Strait of Manin. In my student days, I remember how we envied students from the above communities when they could not attend classes, because the strait was blocked by a huge amount of snow and what avalanches gained on its route to the main road. Of course, the roadmaker failed to remove this amount of accumulated mass in the morning.

6. In the Heart poll, the closest to Manínska and Kostolecká gorge won first place in the section of natural locality and overall 4th place among all nominated facilities. What do you say about such success?

Successes are usually not a coincidence. The Manin Strait and the Church Strait are gems of the natural scenery of Slovakia. This was also appreciated by the voters. I assume that they were mostly visitors to these sites. When one sees something wonderful somewhere, one experiences beautiful moments connected with a stay in the fresh air, one does not forget.

7. Is there anything you would like to pass on to readers of the Trenčín region website?

If you haven't been here yet, you haven't lost anything, because the Strait of Man and the Church Strait are not going anywhere. On the contrary, they look forward to your coming to enjoy their majesty and uniqueness and show you what nature has created over millions of years. Movement in nature is a source of well-being, a well of energy, come and draw from it.

In Trenčín 30.3.2021

Text: MT

Photo: Marek Loduha, Peter Savko