Vlkolínec is one of three world heritage sites in Central Europe that are dedicated to traditional vernacular architecture. The other two are Holasovice/Czech Republic and Hollókö/Hungary. I have visited the three villages within 12 months and must say that Vlkolínec has the most picturesque location: on a high plateau in the backdrop of the Carpathian mountains, surrounded by green meadows and forests. The village is an ensemble of about 40 colourful painted log houses, built on stone footings, the roofs covered with wooden shingles. According to the official website only a few houses are permanently inhabited, others are used as weekend cottages, it has only 19 permanent residents.

As reported by other reviewers the village can be visited in half an hour, there is not much to see: a tiny museum showing the interior of a log house, a wooden belfry (photo), a church with a cemetery. The charm of the site is the unaltered architecture and the pretty location, there are no modern houses apart from the ticket booth and the souvenir shop at the parking lot.

For centuries, the village was very remote and could only be reached on foot, today it is just a short drive on a narrow street, only a few kilometres from the main road. But it does not seem to be crowded by tourists, there were only five other cars in the parking lot when we arrived on a Saturday midday in August 2014.