High Tatras

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 “.

In the Nefcerka valley, one of the best preserved Tatra valleys there is one waterfall hidden in a spruce forest. At
80 metres it is the tollest waterfall, not only in Tatras, but probably in Slovakia. The waterfall bears the name of Slovakia´s most important botanist – Andrej Kmeť.

The tollest waterfalls in the Tatras ( in metres ):

1. Kmeťove vodopády 80
( Nefcersklý potok brook )
2. Vajanského vodopád 30
( Temnosmrečianský brook )
3. Vodopád Skok 25
( Mlynický potok brook )
4. Katarakty 22
( Studený potok brook )
5. Obrovský vodopád 20
( Studený potok brook )

The Tatra lakes
The Tatra lakes (called plesá) are the result of glacial activity during the last Glacial period. In High Tatras is about 190 lakes. The largest and the deepest is Veľké Hincovo pleso lake and the highest is the Modré pleso lake (2,192 m) in the Malá Studená dolina valley. The largest lakes in the Slovak part of the Tatras ( ha ):

1. Veľké Hincovo pleso 20,08
2. Štrbské pleso 19,76
3. Nižné Temnosmrečianské pleso 12
4. Vyšné Bielovodské Žabie pleso 9,56
5. Popradské pleso 6,88
6. Vyšné Temnosmrečianské pleso 5,55
7. Nižné Terianske pleso 5,47
8. Vyšné Wahlenbergovo pleso 5,18
9. Krivánske Zelené pleso 5,16
10. Nižné Bielovodské Žabie pleso 4,65

TANAP
The first protested area in Slovakia the Tatra National Park (TANAP) was founded by an Act of the Slovak Parliament on the Tatra National Park as approved in December 18, 1948, which came into force on January 1, 1949. Five years later a national park was also created on the Polish side of the Tatras. The original area of the TANAP was 510 km2.
In 1978 TANAP was extended by the Západné Tatry and its area was then 730 km2.The administrative headquarters of the national park is located in Tatranská Lomnica.

Tatranská Lomnica
( 850 – 890 m, population 2 500 )
Tatranská Lomnica is the esternmost tourist centre of the three centres located on the southern foothills of the High Tatras. It is situated on the road Cesta Slobody ( Road of Freedom), 6 km north-east from another small village Starý Smokovec. It has a good road and railway communication with Poprad (“gate” to the High Tatras), 18 km away. In Lomnica are situated large large luxurios hotels, offering a diversity of services, were constructed to attract more visitors and spa customers. From Lomnica starting furnicular between Tatranská Lomnica and Skalnaté pleso, which was build in 1937. In 1940 it was extended to the top of the Lomnický štít peak.

At the edge of forest a modern and
well-equipped car camping area Eurocamp was established, a place where after the first year of its existence a world wide meeting of members of FICC (International Federation of Caravan Camping) was organised. IN the southern part of the area there is a more modest Sportcamp, and the Tatranec car camping site is located in the opposite direction. Some other atractions – Museum of the Tatra National Park, Sport area Jamy, artifical bobsled track, TANAP Research centre, Grand Hotel Praha( the oldest hotel in Tatras)….