Pekelník (1,609 m a.s.l.) is one of the most rewarding summits in the Malá Fatra range — the sixth highest peak in the entire massif and a favourite viewpoint along the main ridge of the Krivánska Fatra. Its rocky-alpine summit is free of tall vegetation, meaning the views are wide open in almost every direction, and the International Long-Distance Trail E3 passes right over the top.
The landscape up here shifts beautifully with the seasons: spring brings wildflowers to the alpine meadows, summer turns the slopes a vivid green, and autumn sets the hillsides ablaze with gold and amber. To the east, the mighty Veľký Kriváň (1,708 m) dominates the skyline, while Malý Kriváň closes the view to the southwest. Beyond those neighbours you can spot the Vtáčnik hills, the Kremnica Mountains, Veľká Fatra and the western part of the Low Tatras. On a clear day the various Beskid ranges — Orava, Kysuce and Moravian-Silesian — line the northern and western horizon, joined by the closer Súľov Rocks, the Javorníky range and the Kysuce Highlands.
How to reach the summitThe name 'Pekelník' translates roughly as 'hellish one', but the views from the top are anything but — in 2017 a precise GNSS/RTK survey confirmed the summit's exact elevation as 1,609.51 m, settling a long-standing question about its true height.