The High Tatras
Slovakia and Poland - Including the Western Tatras and White Tatras
The High Tatras
Slovakia and Poland - Including the Western Tatras and White Tatras
Guidebook detailing walks and scrambles in the High Tatras mountains of Poland and Slovakia. Varied routes among the strikingly beautiful craggy peaks of the High, Western and White Tatras range from easy to strenuous. Includes useful lists of summits as well as practical advice on accommodation and facilities, travel, mapping and language.Straddling the border between Slovakia and Poland, the High Tatras are one of Europe's most dramatic and least-visited mountain ranges. These strikingly beautiful craggy peaks, rising to 2654m, pack an extraordinary concentration of alpine scenery into a compact area of national parks, with well-engineered waymarked paths, historic mountain chalets and some of the finest ridge walking in Central Europe.
This fourth edition Cicerone guidebook by Renáta Nározná and Colin Saunders is the most comprehensive English-language companion to walking and scrambling in the Tatras, covering 180 routes across the High, Western and White Tatras in both Slovakia and Poland. Routes range from easy lakeside walks to strenuous ridge traverses and exposed scrambles, with the best walking between July and October.
- 180 routes across three mountain ranges, spanning the Slovak High and White Tatras and the Polish Tatras, from the resort of Zakopane in Poland to the linked villages of Starý Smokovec, Tatranská Lomnica and Štrbské Pleso in Slovakia
- Routes for all abilities are included, from gentle valley walks linking resorts and mountain lakes to strenuous ridge traverses, exposed scrambles and a new via ferrata across the Priecne Sedlo saddle
- The Tatranská Magistrála, the celebrated long-distance ridge trail traversing the Slovak High Tatras, is described in detail alongside the full network of waymarked red, blue, green and yellow routes
- Comprehensive practical information throughout, covering accommodation in mountain chalets and resort villages, travel by the Slovak Tatras tramway, selected summit timings and a Polish-Slovak glossary
- Summit lists, gazetteer and suggested kit list included, making this a thorough planning resource for anyone visiting the Tatras for the first time or returning to explore further
Written by Renáta Nározná, a native of the Slovak Tatras and former mountain guide, alongside Colin Saunders, the guidebook combines first-hand local expertise with practical clarity. Few mountain ranges in Europe offer such accessible alpine terrain so far off the mainstream walking trail — this guidebook is the key to finding it.
The High Tatras - Quick Facts
Area: High Tatras, Western Tatras and White Tatras, Slovakia and Poland
Designation: Tatra National Park (Slovakia and Poland)
Total routes: 180 walks and scrambles
Route distances: 1 to 30km (circular and linear)
Difficulty: Easy to strenuous; well-engineered waymarked paths; some scrambling, exposure and fixed wires on harder routes
Highest summit: 2654m
Areas covered: Slovak High Tatras, Slovak White Tatras, Polish Tatras
Slovak centres: Starý Smokovec, Tatranská Lomnica, Štrbské Pleso, Tatranská Bora (linked by Tatras tramway)
Polish centre: Zakopane
Highlighted routes: Tatranská Magistrála (long-distance ridge trail), Priečne Sedlo via ferrata, Kriváň ascent, ridge walks in the Western Tatras, Orla Perć ridge (Poland)
Transport: Slovak Tatras tramway links resort villages; cable car to Kasprowy Wierch (Poland); detailed travel information throughout
Accommodation: Mountain chalets (refuges) and resort villages; full accommodation appendix included
Best season: July to mid-October; September to mid-October best walking weather; March to early June not recommended
Special features: Summit lists for High and Polish Tatras; gazetteer; suggested kit list; Polish-Slovak glossary; mountain code and Visitors' Charter; pocket-sized format
Author Highlight
“Approaching from the plain of the Poprad river in Slovakia, the sight of the craggy peaks of the High Tatras mountains is unforgettable, beautiful and dramatic. Soaring abruptly skywards, they are like a phalanx of gigantic sentries barring the way to and from the north. With a dusting of snow and a swirl of mist, they assume the ghostly appearance of a phantom army.”
- Renáta Nározná and Colin Saunders, authors of The High Tatras
Printed book
A guidebook with detailed route descriptions, stage breakdowns, accommodation listings, profiles and maps - everything you need on the trail.
ISBN
9781852848873
Availability
Published
Reprinted
25 Nov 2024
Published
3 Mar 2017
Edition
Fourth
Pages
336
Size
17.20 x 11.60 x 1.85cm
Weight
390g
eBook
The complete digital edition of the guidebook, with full route descriptions, accommodation listings, profiles and maps, ready to use on any device. To access your eBook, you will need an eReader app. For more details, visit the eBook FAQs.
Preface
1 AN INTRODUCTION TO THE TATRAS
Background
Early history
Vegetation and wildlife
Weather
National parks
Languages
Place names
Border controls
2 PREPARATION FOR WALKING
When to go
Obtaining information
Travel and insurance
Accommodation
Fitness
Clothing and equipment
Maps
Paths and waymarking
Refreshments and toilets
Mountain chalets or refuges
Mountain guides
Mountain safety and emergency services
Winter walking
Cross-border walking
Mountain photography
How to use this guide
Grading of walks
3 THE SLOVAK HIGH AND WHITE TATRAS
Later history
Walking
Tatranská Bora
Route suggestions
Waymarked network
With a guide
Path descriptions
Cesta Slobody
Red routes
Tatranská Magistrála
Blue routes
Green routes
Yellow routes
Selected timings
Highest summits
Travel
Diversions
Shopping and local services
Other useful information
Gazetteer
4 THE POLISH TATRAS
Later history
Walking
Route suggestions
Path descriptions
Red routes
Blue routes
Green routes
Yellow routes
Black routes
Selected timings
Highest summits
Travel
Diversions
Shopping and local services
Other useful information
Gazetteer
Appendix A Glossary
Appendix B Accommodation
Appendix C Useful contacts
Appendix D Suggested kit list
Appendix E The Tatras mountain code and Visitors’ Charter
Appendix F Help!
Seasons
July-end August warmest (with thunderstorms); Sept-mid October best walking weather; March-early June not recommended
Centres
Slovakia - Poprad, Stary Smokovec, Tatranska Lomnica, Strbske Pleso; Poland- Zakopane
Difficulty
high mountain walking (up to 2654m); well-engineered, waymarked paths; some scrambling, exposure, use of fixed wires but very wide choice of routes
Must See
flowers and wildlife; staying in a refuge/chalet; historic mountain villages; alpine scenery (the ranges are national parks)
November 2021
Updates
Page 54, paragraph 2. It is now possible to hire guides with a special licence from the National Park to take you to summits off the waymarked routes.
Page 141, route 8860 (Priečne Sedlo). A new ‘via ferrata’ has opened across the saddle, parallel with the existing path, normally accessible 15 June to 31 October. It is 450 metres long and can be used in the direction Malá Studená Dolina to Veľká Studená Dolina. Check with the local tourist office about recommended equipment.
Page 201, Entry fees. These (and car park tickets) can now be purchased online at https://tpn.pl/zwiedzai/e-bilety. Click the Union Jack for an English translation, then scroll down to ‘Entrance ticket’.
Page 217, route 009B (Orla Perć). The section between Zawrat and Świnica is now closed, but Świnica can still be reached from either side.
Page 220, route 011, paragraph 2. E-tickets must be purchased online for the car park at Palenica Białczańska – see page 201 above.
Page 224, route 203. This route is now impassable and not used.
Pages 267/268, route 906, paragraph 2. The black route has been moved where it goes steeply uphill, but the distance remains the same.
Page 282, Mountain transport. Tickets for the cable car to Kasprowy Wierch can now be purchased online at https://www.sklep.pkl.pl/en/product-groups/index,4,tourpassy.html.
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