Are you visiting High Tatras in Slovakia to hike? Make it your plan — Tatra is one of Eastern Europe’s most beautiful and underestimated mountain ranges. Tatry can be accessed from Slovakia and Poland, both parts representing a unique and distinct ecosystem.
Today we will introduce you to a great hike on the Slovakian side – from the skiing resort to the mountain waterfall through the rocky forest. This trail is 7.2 km long and just 343 meters in elevation gain. It’s an intensive walk, perfect for your cardio skills, which is accessible to many age groups.
Why choose Waterfall Skok as your starting point?
The Tatra National Park (Tatranský národný park) prohibits mountain hiking between November 1 and June 15. The starting point for this route lies next to Štrbské pleso, a lake that is elevated 1.346 meters above the Earth’s surface. In early June, most of the mountains are still covered with snow!
Given that, only the permitted routes are open – the Waterfall Skok trail is one of them.
The waterfall is formed with water streams from the upper lake, Pleso nad Skokom, and descends to a mountain river, which appears vital during early summer. One of the most beautiful parts of the trail is to reach a plateau alongside the busy river, to continue up to the waterfall with the bustling water streams running next to you raging into misty clouds.
Finding the Waterfall Skok trail
The trail starts from the paid parking lot next to the ski resort about 1.4 km north from Štrbské pleso lightrail station. From there, the trail is an easy find – follow the signs in the direction of the peaks.
The first 2/3 of the ascending leg is a forest road, wild enough to resemble a fairy tale scenery and crowded enough to make the ascent easy and fun. Weather can change rapidly in this area – layered clothing will help you navigate between sun and rain.
The final 1/3 of the leg reveals how late spring reaches these altitudes. We were there in early June – and the snow was still melting, giving an incredible feeling of the season’s change.
Waterfall Skok itself is nicer than it looks in the pictures. Although it’s not so tall, it has a lot of water at this time of the year. That’s why, waiting for the right moment to take a photo of it without other hikers in the background can take a few minutes.
More things to know:
- Once and again, High Tatra trails in Slovakia are closed to general public from November 1 to June 15. However, trails that don’t involve mountain climbing and start at ski resorts, are open all year round. Just like this one!
- The elevation gain is 343 meters, although with the rocky steps in the forest, it might feel like more.
- The total length of this trail is 7.2 km, so it’s a nice, moderate out-and-return track.
- High Tatras are about 5 hours driving out of Bratislava, so if you don’t have much time and prefer taking a day trip instead, check our hike recommendation in the Mala Fatra mountains!
- All Trails link to the Waterfall Skok trail.
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