Slovensky Raj Things to Do

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SOME DETAILS FROM THE DIARY OF A HIKER

My hiking time: 8 am – 7 pm
Breaks: many to take a lot of snapshots
Hiking Speed: very slow to enjoy the nature
Food: bread, cheese, sausages, biscuits
Drinks: hot black Tea in my thermos flask, some water
Mood: excellent ;-)
Company: none
Distance: God knows , my leg pain indicator said 25 km.

I left my hotel in Spisska Nova Ves and took the yellow trail and went to the trail cross point in Kosiarny briezok (a settlement close to the Slovak Paradise) where the yellow trail meets the green one. I changed to green and walked to Cingov (small settlement and starting point to Slovensky Raj). I paid the entrance fee (40 SK) and followed further the green trail along Biely Potok (White Brook).

After two hours I came to another trail crossing called “Sokolia Dolina ustie” (Falcon Valley – outlet). I followed the yellow signs and after half an hour or maybe after an hour (we use to say in Polish: The lucky ones don’t count time“) going upstream and I arrived the first point where the real adventure began to start. I climbed an iron ladder 7-8 m high, crossed the bridge over the waterfall and climbed three others iron ladders. If you choose this walking route you will see the highest waterfall in the Slovak Paradise – Zavojovy vodopad – 70 m high. Very impressive. Climbing the iron ladder be prepared that it will get your adrenaline pumping and you probably will love it as I did.

I walked very slowly towards Sokolia Dolina Vrchol than Mala Pol’ana to Klastorisko via Vlacim hrbom. I walked from Klastorisko – the point where many walking trails cross – through the gipsy colony (read Warning or Dangers) to the station in Letanovce.

TIPS:

1. Start your hiking tour in Cingov (bars and snack bars) and try to end your hiking tour in Cingov or Hrabusice. Check the bus timetables.
2. Klastorisko (only here you can buy some food and drinks – you can eat here a lunch or dinner but for the money you pay you will get the half portion of the meal you will get in Spisska Nova Ves and you will pay double.

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The nickname of the Hornad Split is Slovakian Grand Canyon an since summer 2006 we know why !!!
Tip: buy the Kompass Map no. 2133 (Slovensky raj) with booklet and you can climb and hike for many days!

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The nickname of the Hornad Split is Slovakian Grand Canyon and since summer 2006 we know why !!!
Tip: buy the Kompass Map no. 2133 (Slovensky raj) with booklet and you can climb and hike for many days!

Photo 5: Sucha Bela: this was too dangerous for us, because there were no chains or fences to hold, so we went back after a few hundred meters

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We started our hike by taking the yellow trail which went up to one of the most popular areas in the park - the lookout point at Tomasovsky Vyhlad. It took us about 40 minutes to get up there and there wasn't too much to see on the way, But that all changed at the lookout.

It was like a ridge or cliff opening out onto the forest below. We were about 666 metres up and we could see all over the forest below and even to the High Tatras in the distance. It was quite scary at times, especially as there was a sheer drop below the lookout. I sat on the edge with m legs over the side. Had I lost balance standing up I would have fallen hundreds of metres.

We took some nice pictures of ourselves on the edge of the ridge. There were plenty of other hikers there too and one guy was even drinking a beer. I wouldn't feel safe drinking beer that close to a dangerous ridge but that's the Slovaks for you. There was a toll booth at this point as well and we had today the token entrance fee of 20 Sk to officially enter the park. Well worth it though we could easily have come in another way. We decided to set up a tripod and that's where things went a bit pear-shaped and I lost my camera. More on my General Tip

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My favourite trail in Slovensky Raj was a one-way, green trail from Klastoriska Roklina to Klastoriska Chaty. There were notices about this trail at the start warning that it was tricky and that hikers should be experienced. The estimated time was one hour but we did it fairly fast in 50 minutes. Usually the estimates at the start of a trail are correct though sometimes halfway through or at a crossing you'll see a time that is way off what you've done or what you end up doing.

The green trail was wet for most of the path and we seemed to be walking through a small stream. We had to use proper ladders in numerous places and this was great fun. Though some people would probably find it a little scary. It was up hill most of the way with a climb of about 150 metres over the course of the whole trail. We were both very tired by the end. At one point I didn't see the chains and I walked across a sturdy branch thinking it was the path. It was a tough enough trail though most of the time fairly easy to follow as the green and white marks were everywhere.

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After a short break at Klastoriska Chaty we decided to hike back to Cingov. It was getting late and we hoped to get the 17:45 bus at Cingov to Spisska Nova Ves.

We took the blue path to Biely Potok and then on to Cingov, a journey which was estimated to take 1h30 mins. The walk was through forest most of the way though there were a couple of lookouts near the start with specatcualr views over the southern part of the park, which we hadn't explored.

At Biely Potok we followed the river for the rest of the journey whough it was fairly easy going this time. we also came to the point where we could see the lookout form where I had dropped the camera. I was hoping that the camera would magically appear at the bottom of the forest or the side of the lake but no such luck:(

The rest of the walk was fairly dull and we were glad to get back to Cingov. We had a bottle of sprite at the hut to celebrate finishing the walk. Little did we know we still had another hike of 6km to go.

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After 30 minutes break we continued again. We continued on the same blue trail again along the Hornad river. Our plan was to follow this trail until we met the difficult green trail and then take that one way trail to the ruined monastery and the large chaty. The route was similar to what we had done before with more chains, footholds and iron grilles to help us around the difficult bits of the path. We met lots of people coming the other way and most people were very friendly and said Dobry Dan to us. There were also a couple of rickety bridges to cross, a few of which could only take 5 people at a time. The whole hike on the blue trail took about 2.5 hours including lunch. There is a small chaty along the route but otherwise little in the way of food or drink so much sure to bring some with you.

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After spending an hour searching for my camera at the bottom of the lookout on an off-trail path we gave up and decided to continue our hike. We switched to the blue trail and followed the path along the Hornad river. This was a very exciting trail, dangerous in places with chains, steps built into the cliffs and footholds to help you along. One girl we passed was very nervous on the chains and the steps and had to be practically carried across the path by her boyfriend.

The most scenic parts of the route were also the most dangerous. We had Ruth's camera and given what had happened with mine we took extra care with every shot. It had been raining here recently so lots of the rocks and much of the path was slippy. My hiking shoes didn't have the best grip so I had to be extra careful. The river was quite shallow in most places so had we fallen in it could have been serious. Some of the steps or iron grills which we had to step on to cross the cliffs over the river were a little unhinged. This could be dangerous if they were to become more loose so we tested each step carefully before we put our full weight on it.

In spite of these dangers, or perhaps because of them, I really enjoyed this part of the trail and following the river meant we saw some fantastic natural scenery. It also helped to take my mind off what had happened with the camera. After an hour we came towards a small chaty and we decided to break here for lunch. We picked a secluded spot, away from the trail down on the river bank. It was a lovely place and I could have stayed there all day.