Hiking the Beautiful High Tatras, Slovakia

After a long day of traveling from Oswiecim, we arrived in Poprad, Slovakia for one night’s stay before heading to nearby mountains. Even though it was a weekday, we stumbled upon an outdoor market with vendors selling cold beer, succulent sausages, and hand crafted goods (plus a chance to be put inside a large balloon and float on top of a pool). We tried some of the beer and sausages while enjoying the outdoor market in downtown Poprad. After doing a bit of souvenir shopping, we ate at a recommended Italian restaurant, La Primavera, for a surprisingly filling and cheap dinner.

Our hotel room was straight out of the fifty’s with wood paneling everywhere! Luckily, we were staying in Hotel Poprad only for one night because it was hot with no AC or even a fan, and spotty wifi. In the morning, we checked out and caught a train into the mountains. The High Tatras are a very small mountain range rising majestically over the surrounding plains. The entire range is about 80 kilometers long making it feel even more dramatic.

Planning the Hike

On the ride from Poprad to Vysoke Tatry and finally on to Tatranska Lomnica, the Hight Tatras range rose majestically over the rolling fields in the valley. As we got closer, the slopes looked steeper and steeper. I was hoping to do a bit of hiking that afternoon but the terrain looked too intense for a quick hike.

Dinner at Stara Mama

Our hotel for the next two nights, Penzion Encian, was only steps from the train station and at the base of the mountains. I was hopeful that our hotel would be able to help us find hikes, but their staff was more focused on running their restaurant and most spoke little English. We found several handouts about the mountains including skinning trails and suggesting hiking in the summer but nothing with information about actual hiking trails. The beauty of living in the 21st century is that most anything can be solved online. With a bit of research, we had a reasonable hike planed out for the morning. To prepare, Sara found a restaurant serving large meat and dumpling dishes, Stara Mama, which we enjoyed like we would never eat again.

We developed a basic plan for our hike using the Slovakation blog and Slovak Republic website. We planned to take the cable cars to Skalnata, hike around the side of Lomnicky stit to Vel’ka Svistovka peak. From there, we would descend into the beautiful valley past Zelene lake and then climb to the summit of Jahnaci. I was disappointed we couldn’t hike to the summit of Lomnicky because it’s illegal without guide, but I thought our new plan would be just as good.

High Tatras Day Hike

View up the cable car ride

On the chairlift to our starting point (Skalnata), we could see the full size of Lomnicky as it peaked out of the clouds. I saw there were only cliffs rising to the summit which is when I realized there was no way we could have climbed it on our own. Because our hike started from the chairlift, there were many other hikers starting with us. At times, it was annoying to traverse the extra rocky ground with other, usually slower, groups working their way up as well. Although, the views were worth the effort! On the ridge to Vel’ka Svistovka, there were staggering drops on one side and cliffs rising into the sky on the other side. It reminded me of hikes I completed in the Colorado Rockies, but with a concentrated intensity.

After summiting Vel’ka Svistovka peak, we left most of the crowds behind as we descended into the valley. I was pushing Sara because I was still hopeful we could summit Jahnaci. Partway down into the valley, the trail up the far side came into view. That peak rose much higher from the valley floor than I had expected. It became apparent that we didn’t have enough time to climb the peak and return to the chairlift before closing time. We slowed our pace, took in the amazing views and had a blissful lunch along the banks of a mirror lake. Here are some of our favorite pictures from that day:

After lunch, we still had to climb up out of the valley, back over Vel’ka Svistovka and then back to the chair lift. The hard part was really just beginning! It made us feel like we commonly complete hikes backwards. On Mt. Taranaki in New Zealand, we made the same mistake by going downhill first then uphill at the end of the day.

Close Encounters

Chamois mountain goat crossed us on the trail

Our tough slog up the steep slopes was spiced up when we encountered a mountain goat! I was looking around briefly and there was a chamois mountain goat only about 3 meters away looking at me! We took several pictures as the mountain goat walked around us and then just meandered down the hiking trail.

After being distracted with the goat, I looked up and noticed storm clouds building and lightning on the horizon. A completely exposed mountain top is not the place to be in an electrical storm. We needed to get out of there fast before the storm hit us! We increased our pace as much as possible over the rocky terrain while constantly watching the storm move closer and closer and thunder get louder and louder. Just as we got the chairlift in site, it started to rain and we heard a horn blowing from the cable car. Shortly after, the lift stopped moving. I became worried that it closed early because of the storm and wasn’t to excited about having to walk all the way down the mountain. The wet slippery rocks slowed our progress but the mountain breeze seemed to keep the worst of the storm away from us.

Selfie after outrunning the storm while waiting for the cable car to start up again

We arrived at the station and saw lots of other people waiting in line. Phew! The cable car must have just closed temporarily because of the storm. We waited for the cable car to start back up and rode down relieved that we didn’t have to walk all that way. In total, the out and back hike from Skalnate cable station, over Vel’ka Svistovka peak, to Zelene and back took us 7 hours.

Dinner at Grill Pub

After getting cleaned up, we went to a restaurant known for good after-hike meals. True to its very descriptive name, Grill Pub did not disappoint. We had a filling meal of cheesy dumplings, a variety of grilled meats, salad and cheap Slovakian beer to wash it all down. A perfect end to a long day.

Next, we head west to Kosice with a stop in Spisske Podhradie to visit an awesome castle that was mentioned as a must see!