For all its dazzling natural beauty, its medieval towns and unspoiled villages, the Spis region of eastern Slovakia is virtually unknown to many tourists.
It remains one of the last corners of Europe where foreign travellers are an exotic rarity.
Summers in mountainous Spis are lazy and relaxed, and the fields and forests fill with hikers and mushroom pickers. But it's the winters here that are really special, as the landscape freezes and takes on an other-worldly beauty.
At first sight from the Poprad-bound plane, the Tatra Mountains are always impressive, but when most of their great cloud-bothering bulk is encased in ice, they are truly astonishing.
Levoca, perhaps the loveliest of the Spis towns, is an ideal springboard for exploring the region by bus. Its Renaissance-walled town centre with the lovely wooded Master Paul's square gives a glimpse of times past.
It also has some of the most distinctive hotels in the region, from the bright Arkada overlooking the square to the Hotel Faix, all spartan kitsch and worn Soviet decor.
Of the square's many historical sights, the 14th-century Gothic Church of St Jacob is perhaps most rewarding. It has an exquisite honeycomb interior whose detailing reminds of Gaudi's work.
Master Paul's also contains a wrought iron "cage of shame", where minor criminals and adulterers were publicly humiliated in the 17th century. Its other slightly bleak attraction is a monument to the Soviet "liberation" of the town at the end of the second world war.
As darkness falls, so does more snow, providing a perfect excuse to shelter under the trees at the Christmas market. I buy a bag of vividly painted wooden toys and some tangy vianocka (raisin bread), then we wrap our gloved hands around mugs of mulled wine while townspeople talk happily around us.
Early next morning, swaddled in warm clothes, we set off for the fairy-tale basilica that sits atop Marianska Hora, the hill overlooking Levoca. The basilica has an ancient statue of the Virgin Mary that draws thousands of pilgrims every year, but we're almost alone as we trudge through deep snow. The reward for reaching the summit is a view over kilometres of shimmering white countryside broken only by the spires of distant churches.
A bumpy descent by bus takes us to the village of Spissky Podhradie, dominated by the imperious ruins of Spis Castle, central Europe's biggest castle and a Unesco heritage site. It closes for winter, its walkways coated with ice, but we pick our way around its ramparts, feeling like hobbit extras in The Lord of the Rings.
On the last day we catch the tram from nearby Poprad to Strbske Pleso, a national park that doubles as a winter sports resort, and find ourselves weaving through gaggles of skiers and snowboarders enjoying the crisp air.
Nestled among mountains and two kilometres above sea level, the resort takes its name from the pine-ringed glacial lake at its centre. A frail-looking chairlift whisks visitors up into the mountains, but we opt for a hike around the frozen water.
On our last evening in Levoca, a sudden, biting snowstorm whips through the town. We find shelter in the modern but cosy Divadlo bar.
We are told that Christmas - called Vianoce here - was particularly important to Slovaks during the communist era, as it was one of the few religious traditions that was tolerated.
The rituals of the Christmas Eve feast, the baked goods, fresh carp and wine, the candles and the songs, are yet to come. But for now we're content to sip eye-watering shots of Becherovka herbal liqueur, while the wind and the blizzard do battle outside.
Guardian News & Media
Getting there: take Cathay Pacific (SEHK: 0293) (cathaypacific.com) to London Heathrow, transfer to London Stansted and then take Ryan Air (ryanair.com) on to the Slovakian capital, Bratislava. From there, Levoca is about a two-hour drive by hire car (in winter months snow tyres are recommended).
