The High Tatras or Vysoké Tatry (in Slovak language) represent in Europe a unique concetration of natural beauty deserving their attribute of “ the miniature Alps ”. In an area of 341 square kilometers (of which the Slovak part makes for 260 km2 ,other is on Polish part) there is everything that may be offered by its bigger counterpart, the Alps, failing perhaps only in glaciers and capricorns. High mountain beauty dispersed in the Alps over a much larger area is here in the Tatras neatly confined to a small space. The main ridge of the High Tatras is 26 km long. The Tatra peaks rise above the southern basins by an entire two kilometers and are the tallest of all the mountain ranges of the 1,200 km long Carpathian Arch. It runs from the Ľaliové sedlo saddle (1,947 m) in the west, to the Kopské sedlo saddle (1,750 m) in the east. Its westernmost mountain is Svinica (2,301 m) and the last mountain in the east is Jahňací štít peak (2,230 m). Ten High Tatra peaks extended beyond 2,600 metres above sea level and another fifteen are taller than 2,500 metres above sea level.

How many peaks are there in the Tatras ???
In his his collection of the Slovak writer Pavol Dobšinský wrote that there were “ 999 peaks in the Tatra mountains ”. This magic number troubled the distinguished expert in Tatras, Ivan Bohuš and he undertook to count the peaks. Finally, he arrived to a score which specified their number by their shape: 228 peaks, 164 towers,
16 mountains, 50 “ piles ”, 31 “ humps”, 3 “ heads “, 5 horns, 21 teeth, 15 needles, 2 apices, 4 bastions, 6 “ guards ”, and 5 “ maguras”. Adding seven Polish “ čubas ” the resulting number was 581.

The tallest peaks of the Tatras (in metres above sea level):

1. Gerlachovský štít 2 656
2. Gerlachovská veža 2 642
3. Lomnický štít 2 634
4. Ľadový štít 2 627
5. Pyšný štít 2 623
6. Zadný Gerlach 2 616
7. Lavínový štít 2 606
8. Malý Ľadový štít 2 602
9. Kotlový štít 2 601
10. Lavínová veža 2 600
11. Malý Pyšný štít 2 591
12. Veľká Litvorová veža 2 581
13. Strapatá veža 2 565
14. Kežmarský štít 2 556
15. Vysoká 2 550

The Tatra waterfalls
The presence of waterfalls in the Tatra valleys contributes to their attraction. The most frequently visited are the Studenovodské vodopády watterfalls easily accessible from the Tatras´ main tourist path, called the “ magistrála “.