When I decided to hike the High Tatras this summer I went online to look for travel blogs with tips like I always do. Except this time, there weren't that many to choose from, especially not as a solo traveler without a car. So here is mine!
Coming from Zagreb Croatia by night bus, I arrived at my chosen base, Tatranska Lomnica, at 5.45 in the morning. I wanted to stay in the areas where I could step out of my hostel/hotel and immediately start the trail. After doing a ton of research I decided on the area Vysoke Tatry, and Tatranska Lomnica was the only town with a hostel. I stayed at Bel Hostel, it was part of a hotel where they had converted the basement area into a hostel. It was modern, clean, and with a nice restaurant (a bit on the expensive side though, but lovely when you've spent the entire day hiking). The town itself is beautiful, small and quiet with a nice park and a decent supermarket.
At this point I had been traveling for 6 weeks and was obsessed with lakes. Therefore, my first hike was of course to a lake. I decided on Zelene Pleso, a 17-20 km hike depending on how you choose to start.
I chose to start the hike with the most exhausting part in the beginning, that way it would be a nice stroll in the afternoon when I would be tired. It is an option to start the hike on the green route from the town and walk up for 3 km, under the cable car. However, I had read that it was not the most interesting part, and because this was my first solo hike I decided to splurge and get the cable car up the first part. This way, I started the hike at Skalnate Pleso, 1.751 m. From here I took the red route past Vel'ka Svist'ovka peak and down to Zelene Pleso from there. It was technically difficult, probably the most difficult part of a hike I have done, however, it was totally doable if you set your own pace. This part is mostly following a path only made up of huge rocks on the side of the mountain that are not always sturdy, it is challenging but also quite entertaining. :) Coming up towards the peak, it was starting to get foggy, and I unfortunately missed it. I heard from people I met that it is supposed to be great, so do it if you have the chance! :)
Starting the descent towards the lake, you come around into a beautiful valley, on this path, is what is considered to be the most challenging part, but also manageable. It is a part where a stream has cracked part of the path, and chains have been put up to help. I ended up going down on all fours, crawling down and it was no problem at all. Coming down to the lake, I had gone the first 8 km just following the red path from Skalnate Pleso to Zelene Pleso. Zelene Pleso was stunning even though it was overcast and there is a chalet next to it to go for a warm cup of tea and a nice Goulash soup! After walking around a bit and having a snack I decided to continue my trek as I still had 11 km to go. However, I had gone maybe 500 m on the path when it started pouring down rain. At this point, I ran into an Aussie from the hostel I was staying at and we decided to turn back towards the chalet for shelter. He was doing the trek from the opposite direction. We ended up stranded there for 3 hours waiting out the rain. I had the biggest cup of tea I have ever had, so cozy and very warming, seeing as I was drenched from head to toe. After waiting for 3 hours the Aussie decided against continuing the trek towards the hard part, and we continued my route by choosing the routes: yellow --> blue --> yellow --> green. It is also an option to do: yellow --> green --> blue --> green, but that route goes back under the cable car. The route we chose led us through the valley, down through a pine forest before ending up back in Tatranska Lomnica. It was stunning and concluded the 17.5 km hike.
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