Up and down - and in between a beautiful mountain experience

7/7/20

Our wish comes true:

Today, the weather is holding up and we can use this day for the planned hike on the ridge of the Low Tatras. So, after breakfast, we put on our hiking gear and take a lift from the nearby valley station to Chopok. For this, you need the combo ticket for €20 per person for the 3 different sections of chairlift, funicular, and cable car, almost all the way to the summit at an altitude of 2004 m.

At 10:45 am, we start our hike from the mountain station along the unmistakable ridge trail, of course against the mainstream of tourists, in the western direction. Most people are drawn to the east towards Dumbier (2043 m), so we have our long-awaited peace and quiet and are pretty much alone with the mountains.

Everything is ideal up here, clouds and sun, no wind and a comfortable 18°C, so we can leave our wind jackets in our backpacks. The panoramic view over the entire Slovak mountain world couldn't be better, although the upper half of the High Tatras is cut off by a layer of clouds. We take our time walking, take lots of photos, and take breaks here and there.

Nevertheless, the trail continues past Dereše (2004 m) almost all the way to Sedlo Polany (1837 m). Shortly before this saddle is our turning point and after 3 ½ hours, we are back at the Chopok mountain station. On the way back, we also use our hiking poles because our legs were getting a bit tired... We quickly take the lift down and now we are looking forward to a coffee in the valley. After that, we return to our hotel around half past three and put our feet up. We don't need to walk much today because we will have dinner again in the restaurant in the hotel. Everything is good for this beautiful day!

And what can we say: A weather change with a drop in temperature and rain comes at dinner time, but everything turned out fine. Thanks, Petrus!