The Žilina region offers people with various interests the possibility of spending free time. There are interesting monuments, beautiful mountain areas with lots of hiking trails, well-known ski resorts, thermal swimming pools and aquaparks.
The landscape of the region is shaped primarily by the Carpathians. There are ranges of Veľká and Mala Fatra, Chočské vrchy, Niżné Tatry and West Tatras. They all offer beautiful views and very well-developed tourist routes with a network of shelters and huts. The Low Tatras are also famous for their magnificent caves with rich stalactite formations, the largest accumulation of which occurs in the Demänovská Valley.
In addition to mountain hiking, the Žilina Region offers the possibility of skiing. The largest resorts in the region are Jasna-Chopok in the Low Tatras, Vratna Valley in Mala Fatra and Zuberec in the Western Tatras. The local thermal baths are also available throughout the year. The most famous resorts are the huge Tatralandia aquapark in Litpowski Mikułasz, as well as the bathing beaches in Oravice, Bešeňová and Turčianske Teplice.
The Žilina region is full of castles and their ruins. The most famous of them is the Orava Castle standing on a high rock. However, Streczno, Lietava, Sulowski, Liptowski and Likava castles are picturesque. There are also monuments of wooden architecture. Above the town of Ružomberok, on the slopes of Veľká Fatra, there is a live heritage park Vlkolinec, which is on the UNESCO list.
