Right in the heart of Europe, Slovakia is a land of castles and mountains, occasionally punctuated by industrial sprawl. More than a quarter-century after Czechoslovakia’s break-up, Slovakia has emerged as a self-assured, independent nation. Capital city Bratislava draws visitors to its resplendent old town and tankard-clanking drinking culture. But Slovakia shines brightest for lovers of the outdoors. Walking trails in the High Tatras wend through landscapes of unearthly beauty, with mirror-still glacier lakes backed by 2000m peaks.
On the way to our last High Tatras resort, we have stopped at Tatranec Camp to refill our water tank (ridiculous 7 EUR). Then we moved to a very local botanical garden with an exposition of Tatras Nature (entrance 2,50 EUR). Later we have parked near the cable car station (free parking)...
After a short ride we have parked in Starý Smokovec (3 hours / 8 EUR) – another popular ski resort, from where we took the Starý Smokovec–Hrebienok funicular (11 EUR / person) to the small peak Hrebienok at an altitude of 1285 meters. There we hiked in cloudy weather for an hour around...
Our next destination in the High Tatras was the famous Štrbské Pleso – the highest situated settlement in the Tatras Mountains (parking 10 EUR / day). This famous ski resort lies next to a picturesque mountain lake of glacial origin with the highest depth of 20 meters. It is fed by...
After a rich breakfast in the truck, we took a leisure walk through the open-air museum of Liptov Village in Pribylina. We have admired the wooden folk architecture of homes of higher social classes of this region in the past (entrance 6 EUR). It features buildings from the flooded area...
Sun waked up us in Jasná – the starting point of the cable car (22 EUR – return ticket) to Chopok (2024 m) – the third highest peak of the Low Tatras range (just after the neighboring Ďumbier and Štiavnica Peaks) in central Slovakia. We spent a quite long time in queues to get into...
The Demänovská Cave of Liberty is located in the northern part of the Low Tatras in Liptov region within Demänovská Valley. It is the most visited cave in Slovakia. The path with educational boards in the length of 400 meters leads to the entrance of the cave at an elevation height of 870...
We made a short stop at the magnificent church in Svaty Kriz. It is one of the largest wooden constructions in Central Europe. Its ground plan has the shape of a cross and is 43 meters long. This church was transported from one of the villages that are now flooded under the Liptovska Mara...
We made a short service stop in Ružomberok to visit the local information office. The city lies on the eastern foothills of the Veľká Fatra mountains, the north-western slopes of the Nízke Tatry Mountains. The fact that the city lies on the crossroads of an ancient trade route leading...
Finally, we have got a nice sunny summer day, which we spent in UNESCO listed picturesque village Vlkolínec (entrance 3 EUR – only if you want to visit the museum). It is a remarkably well preserved rural medieval settlement featuring wooden architecture typical of hillside and...
We have decided to overnight below Nová Hoľa peak in the famous ski resort Donovaly, It is located in the area where the Low Tatra and Veľká Fatra National Parks meet. We still had time to catch the 4 PM cable car going to Nová Hoľa Peak (1357 m). Then we took a relaxed hike around Zvolen...