High Tatras

The High Tatras combine striking peaks, high-altitude lakes, national park landscapes and towns with a history of their own. When planning your trip, it is particularly useful to consider the different types of experiences available: you can take on a long high-altitude trail, use a cable car, visit a museum or choose short routes to viewpoints and waterfalls.

Peaks, high-altitude trails and views of the Tatras

Gerlachovský štít is the highest peak in the Tatras, Slovakia and the Carpathians. The Tatranská magistrála offers a different perspective on the landscape: the red-marked hiking trail is 46.25 kilometres long and crosses the southern slope of the High Tatras. At 2,376 metres, Sedielko is the highest mountain saddle. Together, these points of reference illustrate how strongly the region is shaped by different elevations and types of trails.

Skalnaté pleso lies at an altitude of 1,751 metres above sea level in the Skalnatá Valley beneath the southern slopes of Lomnický štít. From Tatranská Lomnica, you can reach the mountain lake by cable car; on foot, it can be reached from Hrebienok or Chata pri Zelenom plese. The cable car to Lomnický štít covers an elevation difference of 855 metres in 8.5 minutes. At Lomnický štít, a botanical garden showcases plant species that grow only in this region.

National park, biosphere reserve and wildlife

The Tatra National Park, known as TANAP for short, was founded in 1949 and established as the first national park of its kind in Slovakia. Since 1993, the Slovak and Polish parts of the High Tatras have formed a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. The Tatra chamois is also part of the region’s distinctive natural heritage. It is considered a symbol of the Tatras and has evolved in isolation since the Ice Age.

Experiences at different paces

At the jetty on Štrbské pleso, 18 stylish wooden rowing boats and one sport rowing boat are available. Tatras Tower offers a different way to experience the area: the 53-metre-high tower is accessible to people with disabilities, and its entrance is located at an altitude of 1,367 metres above sea level. Hrebienok also offers a 30-minute walk to the best-known accessible waterfalls. This walk is also suitable for older people and children.

Museum and architecture at the foot of the Tatras

The TANAP Museum in Tatranská Lomnica presents the nature and history of the Tatras, as well as the former life and culture of the people at the foot of the Tatras. Its dioramas depict typical Tatra animals, while its ethnographic exhibitions showcase the material and spiritual culture of the communities at the foot of the Tatras and in the Tatras. In Starý Smokovec, the neo-Gothic Church of the Immaculate Conception recalls the architectural history of the town: it was built in 1888 in the Alpine style, with characteristic half-timbering.

Places to consider when searching for accommodation

When looking for a hotel in the High Tatras, first decide which experiences should be the focus of your trip. Starý Smokovec is a transport hub with a branch of the Tatra Electric Railway and a cable car to Hrebienok. As a location, Tatranská Lomnica connects the TANAP Museum with access to Skalnaté pleso and the cable car to Lomnický štít. This allows you to compare the places under consideration by culture, altitude, hiking trails or cable-car experiences, without reducing the entire region to a single type of trip.

Other destinations at the same level: Humenné District, Levoča District, Poprad District, Medzilaborce District, Svidník District, Snina District, Vranov nad Topľou District.

To the higher-level travel overview: Preschau.

More about the destination

Relevant information for planning your trip:

High Tatras: towns, hiking, getting there and the best time to visit.