To go hiking in the Western Tatras (Roháče)

7.7. and 8.7.

After yesterday's change in weather in the Low Tatras, today we are changing our location and accommodation to the Western Tatras, so we are staying in the beautiful Slovakian mountains of the Carpathians. Since we already know the High Tatras, we have chosen the much lesser known and less touristy western continuation of the mountain range - the Western Tatras - for the next 3 nights.

It is now noticeably cooler and the weather is unpredictable, but for our relatively short drive from Jasna to Zuberec - the tourist main town of the Zapadne Tatry - it is not a hindrance. At the "Liptauer Sea", the reservoir in the valley of the Wa, we make a photo stop, before that we do some shopping in Ruzomberok.

We arrive at our "Penzion Josu" in good time and have time for a walk around the town in the afternoon.

The village is "behind the seven mountains", The risk of a heart attack is relatively low here, although there are Slovak tourists here. However, our car with the D license plate is an absolute rarity! Here, near the Polish border, you can notice the many region-typical wooden houses that give the area its character.

Our accommodation is also built and equipped in this style, quite original. Dinner at the Koliba becomes a folklore experience.

Today we have a proper mountain hike planned, the weather seems to cooperate, so after breakfast we get in the car and drive about 10 km to Rohacska Dolina. There, in the large parking lot at the ski resort we set off at 9.30 am.

We want to hike to the mountain lakes of Rohace, the tour is indicated with 5 hours of walking time and 680 meters of elevation in the guidebook, so it might be challenging. And it is indeed, we climb seemingly endlessly on a rocky mountain path, we need to take small breaks frequently... Every time we think we have reached the highest mountain lake, there is still more uphill. Quite exhausting!

Fortunately, the weather stays dry throughout the day, but it gets quite chilly at higher altitudes and we take out our fleece jackets and windbreakers from our backpacks.

Our efforts are constantly rewarded along the way with beautiful mountain views, but we cannot stick to the schedule: we only return to our car after a full seven hours, it is quite tough. But we have our coffee break at the only serviced hut on the route. We are quite tired but happy to have completed this tour!

Back at our accommodation, we take a break first. Fortunately, we don't have to walk far for dinner!