Walking the Tatras Mountains: March 2025
Twenty-four hours in Krakow was literally all we had on our way to do a three-day trekking holiday in the High Tatras in Slovakia. It’s no where near enough, but it was sufficient for a fantastic little taster, knowing we have to return here to this beautiful city.
Using one of the many budget airlines to fly us in, we then took the train to the city which was so easy and quick to do. Our hotel, Hotel Stary, was in the Old City, about a 15 minute walk from the train station and here we were at the hub or everything. Being the end of the winter season, it wasn’t massively busy, which was nice in itself and we were blessed with some sunshine so were able to have a beer outside in the sun one evening underneath big heaters. We’d made a decision that we would come back, so didn’t want to rush around museums, instead we opted to just walk and see what was where. We walked all through the Old Town and then over to the Jewish quarter and back. One of the things we discussed for next time, was visiting Auschwitz and Schindler’s factory but I feel quite undecided. The horror that went on at this place, is vital to remember and honour, I feel like it shouldn’t be in the same sentence as ‘tour’, it feels quite disrespectful. I am sure it isn’t and in order to remember, it is vital to tell the history, but I need to do more research into this. I’d be keen to hear other peoples’ thoughts.
Our main destination, however, was the High Tatras Mountains in a region of Slovakia called Vysoke Tatry, about a 2 hour drive from Krakow. I had arranged to do this trip with an organisation called Much Better Adventures as they do a 3 day winter hiking trip in this region. Having never done winter hiking with crampons, it was going to be quite an experience.
The Tatras are a part of the Carpathian Mountain range that run from the Czech Republic to Romania and in the middle there is the Tatra range between Slovakia and Poland. The Tatras have the highest peaks with some over 2400m so this was where we were. Most of the highest peaks are not suitable for hikers and are closed in the winter, they are only suitable for experienced mountaineers, but the national park on their sides, valleys and the lower peaks are very accessible and this was where we were.
Over the course of the weekend we learned to walk with crampons and covered over 47kms over very ‘undulating’ (this became the word of the weekend along with cramp-on and cramp-off!) terrain walking up and down over 1500m in total. Our longest day was a climb of 700m+ and 14 miles and whilst on the flat 14miles isn’t something I would baulk over, on this terrain, some of it sheer ice, most of it really rocky, lots of it uphill or downhill, trying to stop ankles rolling or my knees from splaying the wrong way was a real challenge. I have to say, that day (whilst it didn’t defeat me), it pushed me to my limits and I have since bought shares in physio tape! However, the views were incredible! We ended that particular day with a sauna back at our hotel, Pension Lomnicky (named after the second highest peak), what a luxury.
One of the things I truly love about hiking in places like this is the refuges. On the first day, we went up to the white lake and the Green Lake. At the latter there is a great mountain refuge that serves food, has a roaring fire and beds (if you’re going on). They are always so inviting and warm (ok, that’s a lie, the Cotopaxi refuge was bloody freezing!) and this one was full of sheepskins and big communal tables where we could have our soup.
On the third day we went on a slightly shorter hike as we needed to be back in Krakow for 4pm. The mountain refuge we went up to was owned by a sherpa who had been carrying everything up to this mountain hut for years including the materials to make it! We learned that these incredible men carry everything on their backs, no animals to help, using big wooden ladder-like frames. The average amount carried is around 70kg! However, there was a man in the early 1900s who actually broke the record for this, carrying goods over 210kg up into the mountains. When you walk these rocky paths, often coated in sheer ice, and then look up to see that these incredible men go even further, your jaw drops. I would have loved to have lived in this guy’s little refuge though, it was so inviting and they made the most incredible mulled wine!
I would highly recommend this part of the world for a visit in winter or summer. In winter, it is snow and ice, so use a guide, or if you are a skier, there are several ski resorts close to where we stayed. In summer I can imagine it’s just as beautiful, I would like to return there to experience the different season. It IS bear country, albeit our guide had only ever seen two in his life, so STICK TO MARKED PATHS (as you should anyway!) as they don’t tend to come near the trails so we were told as hikers make too much noise. It’s really easy to fly into Poland and either take the train or possibly hire a car if you don’t use an organised tour. The alternative is flying to Bratislava in the south and driving or using the train up.
As for the tour company and hotels, I cannot recommend highly enough. Our guide through the company was knowledgeable, interesting and compassionate. Rich and I were the eldest on the trip and he looked out for us. The trip is marked as ‘moderate’ in their brochure which I would suggest it is, however, if you do have any underlying knee or back injury with ice under your feet and steep climbs, do use poles, tape and make the guide aware so they can accommodate. Both hotels we stayed at were amazing. Hotel Stary is exceptional. We had splurged a little as it was my birthday and our room was beautiful and the food superb. The Pension was mentioned in the brochure as family run and friendly, which can sometimes be ‘trade talk’ for not up to standards that we might be used to, but in my book it was excellent. The beds were so comfy (very needed after a day hiking), the food was top notch, the service great and an added bonus was their spa that had a jacuzzi and sauna! I would go there again without hesitation.
