Jarabinský breakthrough

The Jarabina breakthrough, sometimes also referred to as the Jarabina gorge, lies north of the village of Jarabina near Stará Ľubovňa. It won't take you much time to make a trip here. Basically, it is easy hiking, which is also suitable for smaller children. The only time to be a little careful is when entering from the meadow towards the breakthrough, where the hiking trail leads to a steeper slope. You also need to be careful after the rain, or if there is more water in the stream and it is flooded so that you do not slip. At the time of our visit, however, the whole breakthrough was smooth.

A walk along the Malý Lipník stream has its charm. There is an idyllic silence, which was sometimes interrupted by loud sounds from a nearby quarry. It is also a pity that the route is short and you will cross the whole breakthrough in principle in a few minutes, as the length of the Jarabinský stream is 700-800 meters.

If you have chosen here from the village of Jarabina, then after arriving at the breakthrough, you can look forward to a wonderful meandering breakthrough in its beginnings. Here, the stream cuts significantly into the surrounding rocks, several tens of meters high. Then there is a path along the stream, which will be accompanied by scattered boulders, stream vegetation, some burdocks, trees or rugged rocks. The walk is really nice and very relaxing, the only downside is the nearby quarry and a relatively short route.

How to get to the Jarabin breakthrough?

You can start the hike to the Jarabina breakthrough in the village of Jarabina, to which there is a turnoff from the main road in front of Stará Ľubovňa (or behind Stará Ľubovňa, depending on which direction you are going). In the village you can park, for example, in a small parking lot next to the local church. By the way, there is also a smaller monument to the fallen heroes of the village of Jarabina in the fight against fascism.

From the church, follow the blue sign. After leaving the village, you will suddenly come across a side asphalt road that leads to the neighboring village Litmanová. You will stay on it for a while until you come across a cross, next to which is a dirt road, which you have to turn onto. You will then find yourself in a meadow, where you will occasionally meet a cute flock of sheep. So at least at the time of our visit, they were making this part of the journey more enjoyable with their barking :)

From the meadow, head towards the local quarry. After a while, however, you will come across a turnoff to the Jarabinský breakthrough. You will descend a steeper forest slope and you are there. Use caution when descending a slope, especially if children are with you. It's not complicated, but if you have worse shoes, it can slip.

The route, if you follow the blue sign from Jarabina to Jarabinský brook, will take about 30-40 minutes. You will go through the breakthrough quite quickly, so in total you can manage the time of the whole trip, there and back, comfortably within two hours, even with a lunch break at the Jarabin breakthrough.

At the breakthrough

You will probably experience the most beautiful part of the tour right at the beginning of the breakthrough. The Malý Lipník stream cuts into the rocks very predatory here, creating beautiful, photogenic scenery. The gorge around the stream is only a few meters away, and if the stream has a smaller flow, you can also look here with a little acrobatics. Then the stream flows towards the quarry, where you can no longer reach.

However, you can choose in the opposite direction to the stream. A nice walk awaits you, where the character of the valley changes from a narrow gorge to a wider canyon. The area around the stream is bordered by several tens of meters high rocks, which are once bare, sometimes forested. The forest here is mostly spruce, but here and there you will also come across a deciduous tree. The stream is lined with numerous groups of green burdock. Here and there you will also come across a larger boulder, which must be avoided, skipped or bypassed. However, it is not difficult.

From the information board

On the way to the breakthrough, we came across an information panel, where we read some basic information about the Jarabin breakthrough. We already know that this is an emergency. It is formed, together with the surrounding hills, by rocks of the Magura flysch of the ridge zone with fossils. The gorge is almost a kilometer long and 100 m wide, which gradually narrows to 1 - 3 meters. There are 5 cascades in the breakthrough.

If you are interested in how high the surrounding walls are, then according to the information they have a height of 10-20 meters. It is interesting that in the vicinity of the breakthrough you can find fossilized ammonites and mussels from Jurassic times. They were found mainly in the adjacent quarry. It is still necessary to point out that the breakthrough is protected. In 1967, it was declared a protected natural creation and later a protected nature reserve.