Are you looking for a longer trek or a family hike in the Tatras? In this guide, High Tatras, Slovakia: 3 Beautiful Treks for Everyone, I’ll share three truly beautiful tips for treks in the High Tatras, which you can also do off-season (well, like us). If you’re interested in something more challenging, read about how to do the Tatras traverse.
Where to Stay in the High Tatras
Before you head to Tatranská Lomnica or Štrbské Pleso to start your trek, you’ll likely need to spend a night nearby. Finding affordable accommodation in the High Tatras can be quite a challenge, especially during peak season. Here’s an overview of accommodations currently on offer:
Hotels Currently on Sale:
Booking.com1) Easy Trail to Skok Waterfalls – High Tatras
This is a pleasant, easy hike with an elevation gain of less than 400 meters, suitable even for children, as the terrain is gently ascending and there are no steep or otherwise dangerous spots on the path.
The Route
You can start at Štrbské Pleso (train station) where you will follow the yellow trail to the crossroads with the magistrála (as they call the main path), where you turn left and walk for 5-10 minutes between the hotels of the sports complex.
For us, the landmarks were the ski jump, lifts, and cable car. From there, the path gradually ascends, first leading through the forest of Mlynická Valley, then through dwarf pines and Tatra pines. Once you get past the dwarf pine section, you will soon see the magnificent Skok Waterfall before you.
- The trek takes 2.5-3 hours
2) from Štrbské Pleso to Popradské Pleso and on to Sliezsky Dom
Families with children also hike from Štrbské Pleso to Popradské Pleso; it’s a relatively easy route. However, if you continue from Popradské Pleso to Sliezsky dom, we recommend leaving the children at home. This is a rather demanding, full-day hike. But it’s definitely worth it.
What the Route Looks Like
From the Solisko sanatorium, we walk around Štrbské Pleso from the right, and then begin to ascend along a forest path over the Trigán ridge (you’ve probably realized how difficult it is for me to decline Slovak names in Czech). From there, we continue to the crossroads of the “winter path” along the red trail, and from the crossroads, the path leads briefly through the forest, and then we join an asphalt path that will lead us to Chata pri Popradskom plese.
If you continue further, check the sky for storm clouds (not like us, read here). If the sky is clear (nicely blue), we walk around the lake and continue across the bridge over the Ľadový potok to the other side and begin to ascend. Here you’ll work up quite a sweat as you scramble up to the saddle below Ostrva, from where there’s a magnificent view of the Mengusovská, Zlomisková, and Rumanová valleys.
From here, the rest of the path is less demanding (unless a storm catches you like it did us) and you’ll gradually start to descend towards Sliezsky dom (which we just barely didn’t reach due to the storm).
- Trek duration: 5-6 hours
- Elevation gain: 700 m
- Distance: 14.5 km
3) Chata Pri Zelenom Plese
A wonderful hike that seemed easier to us than “on paper”; the ascent is gradual, so even less fit individuals can manage it (which we were at the time).
How to get There
We set out from Tatranská Lomnica along the yellow trail through a forest path upstream of the stream Kežmarská Biela voda. The path leads for a long time through a small forest, past a place , which is called Študentská studňa, and you’ll recognize it by the shelter built there where you can sit down and have a snack.
From there, you continue to ascend, and the forest gradually thins out; you’ll enter the dwarf pine zone until you finally see a magnificent hut by an emerald green lake, surrounded by the majestic triangular wall of Malý Kežmarský štít. From the hut, you can also see Baranie rohy, Čierny štít, and Kolový štít to the west, along with the Frozen Valleys.
Directly above the hut rises Jastrabia veža, and a bit further to the right is the threshold of Červená dolinka and Kozí štít. To the north of the hut, there is also Biele pleso and Kopské sedlo, where a hiking trail leads, but it was closed when we were there.
You can stay overnight at the hut, and we can only recommend it!
Tips and Tricks for Your Vacation
Don’t Overpay for Flights
Search for flights on Kayak. It’s our favorite search engine because it scans the websites of all airlines and always finds the cheapest connection.
Book Your Accommodation Smartly
The best experiences we’ve had when looking for accommodation (from Alaska to Morocco) are with Booking.com, where hotels, apartments, and entire houses are usually the cheapest and most widely available.
Don’t Forget Travel Insurance
Good travel insurance will protect you against illness, accidents, theft, or flight cancellations. We’ve had a few hospital visits abroad, so we know how important it is to have proper insurance arranged.
Where we insure ourselves: SafetyWing (best for everyone) and TrueTraveller (for extra-long trips).
Why don’t we recommend any Czech insurance company? Because they have too many restrictions. They set limits on the number of days abroad, travel insurance via a credit card often requires you to pay medical expenses only with that card, and they frequently limit the number of returns to the Czech Republic.
Find the Best Experiences
Get Your Guide is a huge online marketplace where you can book guided walks, trips, skip-the-line tickets, tours, and much more. We always find some extra fun there!
