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SLOVAKIA - The Region of the Tatras

Vysoké Tatry

The smallest and the prettiest alpine mountains in Europe
The Tatra Mountains dominate the northern part of Slovakia. They form part of the massive Karpaty Mountain span, 750 miles long and form its highest mountain range. The Tatras form a natural frontier between Slovakia and Poland. The Tatra Mountains, a relatively small area spreading 300 sq. miles, 210 sq. miles in Slovakia, are abundant in natural monuments, rich and individual fauna and flora species. The Tatra Mountains are 50 miles long and 10 miles wide and are divided into the West Tatra and East Tatra Mountains. The East Tatra Mountains are further divided into the Vysoke and Belianske Tatra Mountains. Regardless of your actual location, you will surely succumb to its magic and be overwhelmed with the desire to familiarize yourself with the Tatra Mountains.

Magnificient wanderings across the Tatra Mountains
Since the beginning of time, man has been drawn to the sky. In the Tatra Mountains you can really enjoy the excitement that the elevation gives you. In the company of experienced guides, less experienced tourists can also conquer the high peaks of Slovakia. Eleven of which exceed a height of 8 500ft.. It is a unique experience to ascend the highest peak of the High Tatras, the Gerlachovsky stit (peak) (8710ft. above sea level). In the sunshine, you can enjoy a breathtaking view not only of Popradska kotlina (basin), with its small towns and villages, but also an immense part of the Slovak country in the distance.

The Tatras are ideal for family holidays. Due to their exquisite natural scenery, the Tatras offer many possibilities to enjoy moments of relaxation, entertainment and physical exertion in the fresh air. In summer, the Tatra Mountains offer not only ideal terrains for mountaineering, a dense network of tourist and cycling tracks of all levels of difficulty, but also terrains for skating, paragliding, bungee jumping, horseback riding, tennis, golf, fishing and many other sport activities. In winter, the nine ski resorts offer excellent downhill courses and tracks with regularly maintained ski slopes spanning 3 to 30 miles, for all age groups and degrees of difficulties. Our modern, rushed lifestyle drives many people to continuously strive for personal records and set themselves higher and more bolder objectives. The area of the Tatras also offers optimal conditions for the devotees of extreme sports and alpine tourism. The visitors must, for security sake, observe the Visiting Order of the Tatra Mountains

We must not forget another important phenomenon: the alpine air. In the 19th century Mikulas Szontagh discovered its extraordinary curative effects, and established climatic sanatoriums in Novy Smokovec, which welcomed its first balneal guests in 1876. These sanatoriums became very popular with guests from all over Europe. Many therapeutic facilities specializing in the treatment of the upper airways, bituminizes and pneumonic surgery are situated in the Tatras.

The foothills of the Vysoke tatry, are dotted with villages and settlements maintaining the folk tradition. Castles and manor-houses with splendid collections of old furniture and objects of art, royal towns with preserved town centers, museums and open-air museums are situated in the close surroundings. Many restaurants offer refreshments, from the most luxurious, to original shepherd huts, well-known for their grilled specialties and Gipsy music; self-services, small bistros and friendly coffee-houses.

Come and enjoy the Tatra Mountains! The magic atmosphere of the smallest alpine mountains in Europe will refresh you and invigorate you with the optimism and energy you need to overcome the demanding days ahead.

Kingdome of silence
The rocky world of the Tatra’s peaks rises from the dark green of the forest and dwarf pine belt. The most advantageous way to view and enjoy the highest peaks are from an airplane or balloon. If you are not keen on this type of adventure, you can ascend the peak Lomnicky stit (situated 8635 ft. above sea level) by aerial cable-way. The other peaks you must climb by yourself, however. You can try mountaineering in the training areas or directly in the mountains themselves, under the supervision of experienced leaders. They will teach you how to use a climbing rope and move safely along the terrain.

The magnificent views from the highest peaks of Slovakia can hardly be surpassed. You will also experience unforgettable moments on the alpine tour to Mlynicka dolina (valley), at the impressive Skok Waterfall or in the neighboring Mengusovska dolina (valley), containing the largest lake in the Tatras, the Hincovo pleso (lake), extending to 51 acres and 176.2 ft. deep. Do not forget the ground cable railway from Stary Smokovec to Hrebienok, totaling 1,479 yrd. in length, following one of the most attractive routes in the Vysoke Tatry. On some paths leading to the mountain chalets, constructed “in the sky”, you can meet mountain porters who supply chalets with the necessary supplies and foodstuffs.

From the top of mountain to the bottom of lake
The most visited attraction is a ride by a cable car up to the Lomnický Peak (8635 ft.) - not accessible on foot. It is the second highest peak of the High Tatras. A modern cable car with a capacity of 15 people will take you in a few minutes that you never forget from the busy Skalnaté pleso (Rocky Mountain Lake) up to the kingdom of silence. About 20 minutes of the limited stay at the cable car station on the top of the peak should suffice you to remember the breathtaking view of the majestic panorama of the Slovak and Polish landscape. Except of refreshment you will find there the highest situated Astronomic observatory of the Slovak Science Academy. If you are interested by our offer, do not forget to take good weather with you.

The most glittering decoration of the Tatras valleys are mountain lakes. The most suitable nickname for them would be "sea eyes". They all have a glacier origin. The largest and at the same time the deepest in the Slovak part of the High Tatras is Veľké Hincovo pleso (Great Hinc Mountain Lake) with the area of 51 acres and the depth 176.2 ft.. You can find and admire it at the end of the Mengusovská Valley. The largest mountain lake of the whole High Tatras is Morskie Oko (Sea Eye) - situated on the polish side of the mountains (86 acres large and 167ft. deep). The mountain lake with the highest elevation (7191 ft. above the sea) is Modré pleso (Blue Mountain Lake). You can find it bellow the mountain saddle Sedielko - recently open to public - right at the place, where Malá Studená dolina (Small Cold Valley) joins the Javorová dolina (Maple Valley).

Taste the excitement
Do you want to enjoy a delightful look at the Tatra peaks in Winter? You can, if you descend any ski jump in the FIS area on Strbske Pleso. Both ski jumps, the smallest with a height of 230 ft., offer delightful views of the neighbouring peaks. In the vicinity of the ski jumps, is a stadium with the mark and show performances by acrobatic skiers and snowboarders take place on the lower part of the downhill course, the slope INTERSKI.

Considerably more demanding ways of enjoying a delightful look over the Tatras in winter, is to ascend any Tatra peak. A seemingly easy ascent on a well-known track can become very complicated. Daredevils, under the supervision of expert mountain climbers, can ascend icefalls or, with the help of ropes, climb peaks that are reserved only for golden eagles.

Holiday Resorts in the Tatra Mountains
The highest located holiday resort in the Tatra Mountains is the Strbske Pleso village (situated 4380 ft. above sea level). The village is situated around the lake of the same name. in summer, its perfect location offers many day trips and in winter, excellent ski conditions. Cross-country raceways, so-called Health Ski Lanes are very popular.

The largest village in the Tatras is Tatranska Lomnica. It is home to the company The State Forests of The Tatras National Park and the TANAP Museum, housing expositions of the flora of theTatra Mountains. Visitors can make use of the picnic spots, sport grounds, horse racing tracks, tennis courts, golf courses and the skating-rink.

The oldest village is Stary Smokovec, being also the transport crossroad, connecting villages in the Tatras with Poprad, the most important foothill town of the region. Stary Smokovec is the spa and ski, administrative, business and cultural centre of the region.

The architecture of the villages in mainly modern, but decorative balconies, towers, steep roofs and stud walls from the beginning of the 20th century attract the attention of the visitor. The region offers all categories of accommodation, as well as four-star hotels and stylish chalets, totaling 12.980 beds.

Foothill Region
The High Tatra Mountains form part of the historic Spis and Liptov Region, where exquisite nature supplements the jewels of folk architecture and the artistic building industry, concentrated mainly in Poprad, Levoca, Kezmarok, Spisska Bela and the neighboring surroundings. Visitors to Levoca can admire the beautiful woodcarvings of Master Pavol, the most important craftsman of Spis, whose supreme piece of work is the carved altar of the St. Jacob Cathedral (1508 – 1517), the highest gothic carved altar in the world (61 ft.). In Spisska Sobota, in the Poprad area, the listed preserve with the Late Roman Church of St. George, dated 1273 and well-preserved Renaissance houses is situated. The historic Spisska kapitula (chapter), the seat of the Spis archbishop, the Liptov Read Closter in the Cerveny Klastor village, Betliar and Strazky manour-houese, castles in Keymarok, Krasna H;rka and Stara Lubovna or ruins of the Spissky hrad (castle) are also worth seeing. Near at hand are the natural jewels of the Dobsinska ladova jaskyna (ice cave), Demanovska jaskyna (cave), Vayecka jaskyna (cave) and Belianska jaskyna (cave).

Transport to the Tatra Mountains
The infrastructural expansion contributes to a big tourism boost in the High Tatras. There should be finished a highway connection between Bratislava and Poprad (some 205 miles) within 3 years which should bring time spent on the road down to a 2.5 hour. There is over half of the highway already in use and more than a third of it just before opening. It is not just a fast driving but also an adventure from sightseeing. There are about 10 castles ruins along the highway built on tips of the rocks. By driving on the highway you can track down the springs of the Slovak longest river Vah which run most of its length alongside the highway and observe the Carpathian Mountains old the way to the Tatras. The unforgettable view will appear once you enter the Undertatras valley with the Western and High Tatra Mountains on your left side and the Low Tatra Mountains on your ride side. All these attractions and overview points might caused that your driving will get streched.

The main railway corridor leads through the valley under the Tatra Mountains. There is about 9 express trains departing from Bratislava during the day. By an intercity express train it takes something less than 4 hours. To make it fast the tracks are under reconstruction in order to increase the top speed of the train to some 100 miles per hour. Except the main railway corridor passing by, there is an extensive railway network in theTatra region itself.

We should not forget about the international connection to the Tatra Mountains. Poprad-Tatry International Airport is the highest located international airport within Europe for airliners (it is located at 2356 ft. above sea level, what is about 500 ft. higher than Innsbruck in Austria). The main concrete runway 09/27 is 2843 yards long and 50 yards wide. Thanks to geographical location Poprad-Tatras Airport has an excellent weather record, frequently it is above fog layer and is utilised by planes formerly headed to Košice, Sliac, Žilina, or even to Bratislava, as an alternate airport. The recently opened connection Poprad – London indicates which way is Poprad-Tatras Airport going to bear.