Muránska planina: A meadow full of gophers, buns and a castle

The Muránska Planina National Park offers many unique attractions and is one of the youngest national parks in Slovakia. It is located in central Slovakia in the districts of Brezno, Rimavská Sobota and Revúca in the Banská Bystrica region. When visiting this area, you must not miss three interesting attractions that this area offers.

Muránska planina: Meadow full of gophers

Gopher (Spermophilus citellus) burrow systems are often found in remote parts of the countryside, making it difficult to observe them in their natural habitat. Fortunately, there is an exception – the White Waters Gopher Hunt near Murán. During the season from March to September you can observe one of the most numerous colonies of gophers in Slovakia.

These sympathetic rodents came here in 2000 from the Košice airport, where they were threatened with extermination. Today, almost 4 000 gophers live here. Thanks to regular feeding, they have become quite friendly towards people and happily accept food directly from the hands of visitors.

The Gopher Hunt is located approximately 2.6 km northeast of Murán in the direction of Predná Hora, on the state road No. 531. You can visit it at any time, there is no charge for entering the Gopher Hunt itself, but the parking lot is charged at 4 euros for the whole day.

 

Muránska planina – hike and cycle tour

If you decide to go to Sysľovisko, you can get there comfortably on foot or by bike. The hiking trail leads through the meadows from the village of Murán and is 2.6 km long, which is manageable even for children. For cyclists, there is the blue cycle route No. 2577, leading between Muráň and Predná Hora.

It is important to visit Sysľovisko during the day, as the gophers hide in burrows after sunset. It is ideal to go on a sunny or partly cloudy day, when the gophers are most active, and you won’t see them outside in bad weather.

The unique thing about a gopher hunt is that you can feed the gophers. You can bring sunflowers, apples, carrots, oats, walnuts, or purchase them on site. The important thing is that you do not feed them human food and snacks.

In addition to the gophers, you will also find donkeys at the gopher farm, which you can feed directly from your hand, making them an added attraction for children and visitors.

 

Murano buns

After a visit to the gopher hunting ground, you can enjoy the unique “Muránske buchty” in the nearby village of Murán. These buns, which can only be found in this region, are a delicious delicacy.

The bun shops offer different types of buns with different sweet fillings such as jam, poppy seed, cottage cheese, nougat, blueberry, walnut, strawberry and cherry.

In 2018, Murano bun was awarded the Gemer-Malohont Regional Product Label. The bun shops are open daily from 8:00 to 18:00.

Murano Castle offers beautiful views

After a good meal, you can take a trip to Muránský hrad, the third highest castle in Slovakia. This castle ruin on Cigánka Hill (935 m above sea level) on the southern edge of the Muránska Plateau offers beautiful views of all sides of the world.

A nature trail leads to the castle from the village of Muráň, which is not very long, but overcomes an elevation of more than 500 m. Directly below the castle there is a seasonally open cottage Zámok. The way back follows the same route.

The Muránska Plateau and its surroundings offer many opportunities for visitors to discover natural beauty, cultural monuments and unique taste experiences. This area is certainly one of Slovakia’s treasures worth visiting.