Though it is a beautiful land with a rich cultural and political history, travelers to Eastern Europe often overlook Slovakia. Decades of oppressive communist rule and shock films like Hostel (2006) are largely to blame, but Slovakia today is an affordable and picturesque destination for tourists of all stripes. Following centuries of rule under the Hapsburgs and its modern legacy as part of Czechoslovakia, Slovakia recently gained its independence in the 1993 Velvet Divorce. (Don’t worry, Slovakia and its former bedfellow, the Czech Republic, are still friends; centuries of cultural heritage and modern economic trade keep them in amicable relations.) Now wholly democratic and a full-fledged member of the European Union, the landscape of this land-locked nation boasts breathtaking peaks perfect for hiking and skiing, rolling fields, ancient caves marked as UNSECO World Heritage Sites, and hundreds of natural springs that spawned Slovakia’s famous spa culture. Human civilization, too, has made its mark on the landscape, with ancient mining cities and medieval hilltop castles such as those at Bajnice and Trečín; Slovakia has more chateaux and castles per capita of any nation on the planet. Its small size and affordable prices—even in the nightlife mecca of Bratislava—make Slovakia a hidden gem of Eastern Europe.