Here we are - Slovakia's High Tatras (Vysoké Tatry), the place that top the list of Top 10 European destinations by Lonely Planet in 2019!
Picture these - pristine alpine, gorgeous natural scenes, hiking trails with exhilarating view, calm lake views that reflects the picture of the mountain beneath it. Above descriptions fit well to the majestic Swiss Alps without doubt, but Slovakia's High Tatras also offer these, albeit with a less denser crowd and only a fraction of price you pay for Swiss Alps. That is why we put High Tatras into our priority list when we put Slovakia into our visiting country during our Central Europe Trip.
So you have heard we mention about High Tatras or Vysoké Tatry, but where are this place exactly?
High Tatras and Vysoké Tatry can be used interchangeably. It refers to the mountain range at northern Slovakia and southern part of Poland, housing The National Park of High Tatras and constituted the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve since 1993.
How to Go to High Tatras
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| At Starý Smokovec train station |
If you are going to High Tatras via Slovakia, then you surely will pass by Poprad.
From Poprad-Tatry train station, you can transit to a different railway - Tatra Electric Railway and make your way to High Tatras. It is not a high speed train but rather ecological electric trams that travel in slow speed. The tickets can be purchased at Poprad-Tatry station without any reservation as there are plenty of trams available There is a designated platform to cater for Tatra Electric Railway.
Two types of tickets are available, namely single ticket and daily ticket for €1.50 and €4.00 respectively. We made a mistake by purchasing single tickets departing from Poprad-Tatry to Tatranská Lomnica to check in hotel, then only realise purchase a daily ticket to travel from Tatranská Lomnica to Štrbské Pleso and vice versa (as the availability of daily tickets come later, ouchie!). If you have a plan to take Tatra Electric Railway multiple times, learn from our mistaken and just purchase a daily ticket! The money is off better use.
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| A place with nice view at Štrbské Pleso |
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| View taken in train en route from Štrbské Pleso |
All trains departing to Poprad-Tatry will reach Starý Smokovec for a quick stop and transit. From there, you can transit to a different train to either Tatranská Lomnica or Štrbské Pleso, with multiple stops in between. Remember these trains move in different direction, so make sure you get up to the right train.
Where to Stay in High Tatras
Visitors mainly stay at these 3 places in High Tatras, namely Starý Smokovec, Tatranská Lomnica or Štrbské Pleso. Another alternative is a day trip from Poprad, but you gotta miss out the fun night time, especially the chilling weather at High Tatras.
Oh ya, there is another alternative if you have a high budget - spending a night at Lomnicky peak, the second highest peak in High Tatras. Imagine sleeping at the altitude of 2634 metres among peaks of the High Tatras, then with a beautiful starry night over your head, what an experience! Then the next morning you can do like the MV song shot here - Happy by Pharrrell Williams.
Book ahead in weeks though if you have such plan. Do not attempt walk-in.
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| Grand Hotel Kempinski High Tatras - 5 start luxury hotel at Štrbské Pleso |
That sounds confusing right? Decision is hard to make as there are so many places available for stay, yet online research does not yield much results. Surprisingly not many people have written about High Tatras, and we could not even spotted any Chinese tourists who make up the majority of people in major Europe attractions here.
Well, where to stay depends on your planned activities - skiing, hiking, rowing a boat, going up to Lomnický štít or others. If you plan to ski, your desired ski resorts make all the differences.
Basically the summary as below:
Starý Smokovec - skiing, hiking
Štrbské Pleso - enjoy the 5 star resort Grand Hotel Kempinski, lake view, rowing, hiking, skiing, skii jumping
Tatranská Lomnica - going up Lomnický štít in early morning next day, skiing, hiking.
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| Interior view of Hotel Renomal |
There ain't right or wrong here. We had a wonderful stay at Hotel Renomal at Tatranská Lomnica for a good rate about €70, enjoying a good lunch and dinner there. The good connectivity between these towns by Tatra Electric Railway, buses and roads also ease the troubles of travelling.
Štrbské Pleso
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| The view at Štrbské Pleso |
We thought what would be so interesting about this lake and only had ourselves to blame for making early conclusion. Štrbské Pleso is such a majestic beauty that we instantly fall in love with!
Štrbské Pleso is the second largest glacial lake on the Slovak side of High Tatras. Its surface remains frozen for around 155 days per year. So possible you will be rewarded with a nice frozen lake view if you are coming in winter!
So what we thought initially of walking around a lake with some benches to relax turned to be exercises for both our leg muscles and camera shuttles. The shuttles were clicking none stop - from spot A to spot B, then continue to another angle and so forth.
It was a good 2 - 2.5 hours walk around Štrbské Pleso. Although there are quite a number of visitors but it did not feel crowded at all as the people are scattered around. There are even a few couples were here taking their wedding photograph, and another wedding reception is being held here. What a romantic wedding.
Meanwhile for us, we also had a good time playing Pokemon-Go and slotting our Pokemon into various gyms around the lake. One of the Pokemon lasted up to 10+ days here, if I recall correctly.
Another way of going romantic here is renting a boat. There are small and large boats at your service, some even with rowing service, or even a wedding boat or a boat with glass bottom. These activities are available during summer time only, mainly from June 1 - September 15, 10am - 6pm daily. However it may depends on weather on that day and no advance booking can be made, unless you are coming in a big group.
For us traveling with limited budget, we also went romantic by taking a couple picture of our own featuring Štrbské Pleso and the majestic mountains as background.
You can access to Mt.Predné Solisko, the lowest and easiest accessible peaks of High Tatras at the altitude of 2093m via a 4-seater Solisko Express cable fom there lower station at Štrbské Pleso. The station is located at the end of this road in above picture, which Shirleen strategically blocked its view with her model shot.
Popradské pleso
If you are an avid hiker, consider to get into Popradské pleso, which is located next to Štrbské Pleso. It will be a good 10km high and average about 3 hours, cutting through the famous Tatranská Magistrála trail.
You can start at Patria Hotel at Štrbské Pleso, and set out to a waymarked trail named Tatranská Magistrála trail. Popradské pleso has a significant point worth checking out - the Symbolic Cemetery, build as a memorial devoted to people who worked and tragically died in High Tatras. Kindly take note it is closed from 1st November to 15th June on the next year.
In the interest of time and valuing our physical ability, we gave a skip on this hiking. If you are interesting, you can check out their website for more info.
Tatranská Lomnica
Meanwhile, the place we stayed - Tatranská Lomnica is full of greens and nice to walk around. We randomly spotted this bench which seems to be picturesque, and eventually had some fun time taking photos there.
Tatranská Lomnica mainly serves as a gateway to Skalnaté pleso and Lomický Štít. The former is reachable by cable car or by hike, while latter is reachable only by exclusive cable car that needs advance booking.
Another point of interest is hiking to Zelené pleso, one of the most beautiful lake in High Tatras, which we did not go due to interest of time.
Now does it sound like you probably need 5 days if you were to go all the point of interests here?
Skalnaté Pleso
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| Skalnaté pleso |
Another lake, and another astonishing view offered by Skalnaté pleso at the elevation of 1751 meters with some ice surrounding the lake!
We booked the cable car via official website 1 week prior travelling date (the website is only open for booking 1 week in advance) and have to choose a specific time to board the cable car at the station in Tatranská Lomnica. This is important - you have to be at the station at least 15 minutes prior your booking time, and get you booking confirmed and receive a "Gopass" which will be yours permanently. Then board the cable car at that particular time with the Gopass. If you miss the time slot, then it is considered you have forfeited the tickets!
We are taken by a 4 person cable car from the ground station, then transit to a 15-seat gondola to Skalnaté pleso.
It is a good walk surrounding Skalnaté pleso and taking pictures around. Snow on the ground is a rarity for people like us who come from Asian, so we get excited easily upon contacting snow. Just be careful not to step in the snow like us, otherwise good luck to your sport shoes.
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| Eco Park |
There is a eco-mini-park with wooden statues and Swiss cottage with climbing frames that did not interest us. Another point of interest is Skalnaté pleso observatory founded in 1943. If you feel hungry, there is a restaurant here.
You can linger as long as you like in Skalnaté pleso, before deciding to commute to Tatranská Lomnica or hop on another cable car to Lomický Štít (advance booking required, no specific time slot - we actually bought the ticket from Tatranská Lomnica - Lomický Štít).
Lomický Štít
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| Lomický Štít is almost invisible from Skalnaté pleso, hidden by the fog |
We know it is expensive to get a cable car (€44 per pax, including cable car from Tatranská Lomnica - Skalnaté pleso) ride to Lomický Štít, the second highest peak of High Tatras mountain but we still do it. It is one of the unique experience that probably we hardly find time to come back in future.
There is a specific cable car that connects Skalnaté pleso - Lomický Štít in an interval of 20 minutes. Advance booking is required but you can board it anytime on the date which you have secured your booking. It is better to be there early, as the crowd might be lesser in the morning.
Each group is allocated 50 minutes at Lomický Štít, then an alarm will be sound to call the group to board the returning cable car. Utilise this time well - take some photos, have fun with the snow or enjoy a cup of hot chocolate. Do not be shy to get the help from fellow visitors here to lend a help in take a photo of you.
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| Skalnaté pleso view from cable car in returning trip from the peak, gorgeous ain't it? |
At the same time, do not be a prick and occupy the same spot for too long. We met a visitor there keep hogging the same spot for long time and spoil the fun for everybody.
What to Eat in Tatranská Lomnica
There are a number of restaurants in Tatranská Lomnica that can feed your stomach well here. For a budget of around €10 per pax should be good enough to get you a decent meal, though you may splurge in certain restaurants.
Bongusto Caffé
Bongusto Caffé is located strategically next to the train station in Tatranská Lomnica. It serves as a nice place for you to grab a cup of Italian coffee or enjoying some cakes and pastries.
We purposely get seated at the outdoor, just like how the Europeans liked it. Apparently it was fun and relaxing, while enjoying a little bit sun bath!
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| Marengo Snehova Torta (€2.80) |
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| Tiramisu (€2.90) |
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| S Rumon with Rum (€2.90) and Fresh Ginger Tea (€2) |
Again, cakes as our breakfast before we depart to Lomický Štít!
The Marengo Snehova Torta is particularly enjoyable with creamy texture and crusty base akin macaroon. Another factor we appreciate is the milder sweet taste of the cakes here.
Here also marks our first encounter with a hot chocolate drink with rum!
Bongusto Caffé
+421 905 933 130
Operation hours: 8am - 8pm Daily (till 9pm on Fri, Sat & Sun)
Reštaurácia Stará mama
A restaurant with a motherly name, Stará mama serves a menu of Slovak country food in good price. Its environment is cozy, with lace-curtained booths and ceramic ornaments that provides a degree of privacy. Not hard to locate it as it is located right behind the train station.
The cabbage soup, (Kapustová s klobásou, €4.10) is one of Slovak's traditional dish that makes an appearance during Christmas dinner. It fits in the role as an appetizer well with its distinctive sourish taste that opens our appetite. Topped with cheese, the soup has sausages and cabbages within and best eaten with bread.
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| Bryndzové halušky (€ 7.50) |
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| Pastiersky syr v Cesticku (€ 7.50) |
If you spot this dish - Bryndzové halušky in Slovakia and have not tried it, you must order it without doubt! It is made of sheep cheese (the white thingy, which happens to be Slovak's proud made) served on top of halušky, a type of potato gnocchi. Then it is topped with crunchy yet the godly taste pork lard that literally melts in mouth. Till now we still have not come across pork lard that tasted so heavenly to this extent. However, bear in mind that it gets surfeiting easily with such a load of cheese so best shared among 2 person, if you are Asian since our appetite does not accustomize to great quantity of cheese.
On the other hand, Pastiersky syr v Cesticku is actually a battered shepherd cheese in a dough with ham filling. It is served along with cabbages and tomatoes but we added roasted potatoes and ketchup at a cost of €1.90 and €0.90 respectively, which we did not aware until the bill comes. This is due to we said "yes" to everything the crew mentions. Blame the language barrier.
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| Palacinky s pečenými jablkami, škoricou a slachackou (€ 4.20) |
Finally, we ended our lunch with Palacinky s pečenými jablkami, škoricou a slachackou, which is pancake with apple filling, cinnamon and whipped cream. The apple filling tasted like jam, not to sweet, and the whipped cream is great.
Pancakes are one of the traditional Slovak dish that you should try out as well.
Reštaurácia Stará mama
+421 52/446 77 13
Operation hours: 11am - 10pm Daily
Humno Tatry
The wooden cabin Humno Tatry is located near to the cable car station, a distance away from the main town of Tatranská Lomnica. It has a restaurant, but at the same time it is a cocktail bar and a place for partying. Different DJs may come here to host party, so do check out their Facebook or website for latest information.
We came here for dinner as we ran out of options for dinner. Partying was not exactly our favourite activities.
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| hrncek sllneho hovadzleho (€ 5.50) |
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| morcaci steak s medovou (€ 11.90) |
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| Tatransky cay (€ 3.50) |
The food price here is slightly expensive relatively to other restaurants we have seen earlier, probably it is a pub rather than a full-fledged restaurant.
Hrncek sllneho hovadzleho is actually a mug of beef broth eggs gnocchi and beef ribs. Not exactly suitable for our appetite, as it was salty and we find it hard to finish it.
On the other hand, the dish we had - morcaci steak s medovou is actually Turkey steak. It is served with honey, asparagus, cream, demi-glace sauce and potato-carrot puree. The turkey has been expertly seasoned and tender in texture, and the sauce did well to elevate its taste.
So we had an opportunity to taste local alcohol drink - Tatra tea with 52% alcohol. It has a very strong liquor scent and a nice fruity end. And the reason we had this is to warm our body during the the chilling night.
Humno Tatry
+421 911 115 603
Operation hours: 11am - 10pm Daily (till 3am on weekends)
Souvenir Shop
After you embark from the cable car at Tatranská Lomnica, you will be directed to exit via a souvenir shop. Have some time browse through the shop to see what best fit your take home souvenirs.
We actually bought a small bottle of Slivovice, a type of Morovian fruit brandy distilled from plums. Apparently, it is Czech Republic and Slovakia traditional drink.The taste is quite nice, especially its scent that we keep mesmerizing till now. Apart from that, it serves well during our entire trip because we just will open the bottle and had a sip of it whenever we feel cold.
Not Google who did the job of introducing this drink to us. We actually bumped into a random group of youngsters during the train to Starý Smokovec, and then treated us a small cup of this that we immediately fall in love with!
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