All along the Hernád gorge

Itinerary

• From the bus stop to the houses of Podlesok, follow the P marking on the asphalt.
• At Podlesok, turn left to the K marking, which we follow through the Hernád gorge to the Čingov (Csingó) resort.

Detailed description of the route

Podlesok and the Hernád gorge

Looking around from the bus stop and the nearby parking lot, nothing yet hints at the excitement of the hiking trail or indeed the entire Slovak Paradise (Slovenský raj). To the north (unless shrouded in clouds) the peaks of the High Tatras gleam invitingly close, while to the south, opposite our direction of travel, gentle mid-mountain slopes rise. Within minutes on the P marking we reach the Podlesok (Erdőalja) resort, where map boards help with orientation, and during tourist season about half a dozen buffets and restaurants await hikers heading into or emerging from the gorge.

The well-developed, modest-sized resort center has now successfully shed its socialist-realist decades, and its campsite with cozy wooden cabins and the forest-edge road offers quality accommodation to the crowds visiting in summer. Here, we change signs, turning left onto the asphalt strip marked with K that will guide us until the end of our route. We pass several larger accommodations, with fields to the left, then a corral, and still (but for the last time on our hike) the jagged giant of the High Tatras, the crown of the Carpathians, dominates the horizon. Soon we enter mixed forest, and after passing children’s camp buildings, a path separating from the asphalt turns left.

The ground becomes rocky; a short branch on the right calls to the top of a limestone crag: below us the Hernád gorge (Hrdlo Hornádu) opens up, the symbolic and real gateway to the river canyon. From here, the basin area north of the Káposztafalvi Karst mountains is clearly visible, from where the river turned towards the mountains, cutting through partly older stream valleys along their edges and carving its canyon adorned with rock formations and mysterious forest.

From the Hernád gorge to the valley of Kláštorska roklina

We descend a few meters on a water-washed rocky path to the bridge below, then for the first time cross the river. On the other side, a wooden hut awaits, where during tourist season you can purchase national park entry tickets, but if you have a multi-day pass or have already acquired a small card in Podlesok, you can continue along the metal walkway built into the limestone cliff beside the Hernád. On a small terrace stands the restored former fishermen’s association house – this is the last building before the Letanovský mlyn resort. From several points, we can look out on the foaming, here a wide river lined with poplar and fir-mixed deciduous forest. Since the 1960s, the gorge area has been a National Nature Reserve (Národná Prírodná Rezervácia Prielom Hornádu), thus falling under the highest protection category, and its forest in the most inaccessible parts hides patches of true primeval forest (never logged by humans). Since 1988, the whole mountain area has enjoyed national park protection.

The next section holds one of the most exciting and at the same time toughest parts of the canyon: the steep slope leaning toward the river causes the trail to undulate, so sometimes we climb up or down fairly steep sections. Movement is supported by steel cables and limestone-embedded steps, and older “rod ladders” (replaced recently due to poor weather resistance and slipperiness by metal equipment) are also encountered. The possibly most-photographed section of the entire Hernád gorge awaits: stepping on steel trays fixed to the side of a rock cliff above the river, clinging to wires, proceeding 3-4 meters above the roaring, swirling water. The notched, slightly overhanging wall sometimes forces lightly acrobatic movements, as we need to lean somewhat over the depth. The old-style comb-shaped steps sometimes shift a bit under one's weight, but there is no need to panic as the fixtures do not usually break off.

A steep, technical climb follows with another series of trays, then we descend back to the shore, where striking trees-studded romantic limestone rocks accompany the river. Opposite the gravel spread beside the bend, the river forces gradual retreat over tens of thousands of years: small and large blocks detach from undermined sections, shaping the meandering valley of the Hernád.

We cross the first suspension bridge of the gorge, called the “Bratislava Bridge” after the capital's main bridge – though its Slovak name, Reťazový, simply means Chain Bridge, referring to the supporting structure. The path crosses a rock rib on log boards and steps and metal stairs. Its name commemorates the dripping karst water flowing off the rock: Stupačky nad večným dažďom, or “Steps above the Eternal Rain.” This is one of the most beautiful rock-gate sections of the gorge, also infamous for a sad event in July 2015: the nearby Kláštorska roklina (Monastery Gorge) was the site of a mountain rescue helicopter accident when the helicopter clipped overhead power lines while descending and crashed, killing 4 of its passengers.

An exciting section follows, compressing all the romance of the Hernád gorge into a few meters: after a small metal walkway, the rock path fixed with trays and wires on the leaning wall follows the river, then wider trays build steps climbing the crag’s shoulder. Then, jumping across metal steps and grasping wires, we reach the suspension bridge at the junction of Kláštorska roklina (Monastery Gorge). We have now traveled through one-third of the canyon, this section taking about an hour from Podlesok if there are no crowd-related delays.

From the Kláštorska roklina junction to the Letanovský mlyn

The Lanová lavka suspension bridge was somewhat rusty in 2022 and requires some courage: it tunnels from forest to forest between steep mountain slopes, with a grated floor and a distinct sway due to its height (a sign limits crossing to 5 persons simultaneously). Below the rocks, the Hernád carved deeply through the terrain appears in its picturesque reality. On the far side, we descend steeply but on a built section to the river again, balancing on the trays called Bemetszés (Stupačky Pri Záreze), then grasping chains again to reach the river bank.

We are in the most dynamic section of the canyon; the tools familiar so far offer no new features, but they are more densely present. Traversing it reveals the romantic side of gorge hiking, and the wildly meandering river and its surroundings showcase all the beauties of the canyon: the seemingly immovable limestone peaks, lush vegetation, and the pleasantly chilling isolation of river-carved rock corridors.

After a chain ridge, another suspension bridge (Reťazová lávka Nad Zelenou dolinou) leads us to the right bank, where it’s worth taking a small path down to the riverbed opening through a magnificent rock gate. The trail meanders alongside the river in a quiet water bend, then undulates up a secured incline before reaching a metal staircase leading to a dizzying high bridge spanning the gorge wall. Above a side valley’s (mostly unfortunately dry) waterfall stands the highest point of the entire hiking trail, where stone-embedded steps and a log ladder help descend to the shore. Crossing a small suspension bridge, we arrive at the former Letanovský mlyn resort, whose main building nowadays is a cozy small buffet offering food and drinks during the season (and weekends outside the season), reached about two and a half hours into our route.

The widening valley basin is bordered by fine limestone slabs, and previously, a small dam was built across the Hernád here in earlier centuries to supply constant water for the mill (now vanished). The 19th-century mill was a stopping point during the first winter crossing via the gorge on ice and later summer rafting, when Béla Hajts and his team scouted the route (in winter keenly recalling wine drunk with the miller, yet a few months later reporting abandoned buildings and signs of decay). His successful summer expedition conclusion well reflected the conditions in the Hernád Gorge at the time: “No more than four persons can comfortably fit on the raft, which must be steered by two strong men. In greater need, all must be ready to wade and assist in the water. Clothing: a swimsuit and good shoes suffice. Equipment: one sharp axe, 4 pcs. 2-meter lifting poles, one pole-hook, and a 2–3 meter hiking stick. Starting in the morning, it’s possible to nicely cover the route in a day.”

Hajts’s advice for the section ahead held until 1974 when the Mountain Rescue Service completed the hiking trail’s construction, making the last part of the gorge passable. The mill itself was destroyed by fire and never rebuilt – unlike the Carthusian Bridge (Kartuziánsky most), which spanned the river from 1341 from Kláštorisko (Refuge Rock) atop the mountain leading to the Red Monastery along a cart road until 1944 when Germans blew it up. Reconstructed in the 1990s, crossing it reveals rock peaks hinting at the final exciting sections of the route.

From Letanovský mlyn to Čingov resort

We leave a meadow equipped with a rain shelter, then lose ourselves again in the depths of the gorge. Climbing a broad pedestrian path with guardrails, ending on another metal-trayed, crag-side walkway, we cross a narrow and wild ravine grasping chains, then descend beside the roaring, constricted river. The last tray section is among the most spectacular: following a rock wall’s bend, it calls higher and higher. At the end, we descend some meters secured by chains in the shade of an overhanging rock section, then climb even higher trays than before.

On the chain-edged but easy path, we find our way back to the riverbank, where we can admire beautiful rock formations. Another bridge (Mostík nad úžinou) reveals the Hernád gorge’s particularly attractive profile; beyond it, a beautiful forest path with pine roots gently ascends along the river (a large cave cavity hollowing the riverbank below). We reach the fork to the Tamášfalva lookout (Tomášovský výhľad) and swing over a long bridge to the opposite side – this is the Iron Gate (Železná vráta), the last part of the gorge made passable, where the first bridge was built in 1925. A short secured chain path leads down a slippery rock shoulder to Biely potok (White Creek) arriving from the central karst. The slightly wider water flow a few meters above has carved a surprisingly narrow, barely meter-wide fissure in the hard limestone, observable from a small iron bridge.

Moving away from the roar, the peaceful section of the Hernád gorge awaits us for about half an hour’s excursion. At a widening point, a clearing reveals the Tamášfalva lookout’s rock gallery: atop gigantic peaks, one can spot the observing crowd. (Next to the trees, an educational trail board in Slovak and English presents forest-forming species of the limestone slope.) From hereon, a relaxed walk awaits on a pleasant forest route without any challenges. A side valley joins, and we cross a small clearing and ford at the Lesnica confluence. The now less wild Hernád meanders under the trees, and its rock-battered ripples can be admired only once more—from the metal bridge in front of Čingov (Csingó). (Previously a stone bridge spanned the river here, but like the Carthusian Bridge, it was lost in World War II.) Minutes later, our hike ends at the widening valley gate resort by the restaurant and parking lot. (The bus stop is about a 5-minute walk further up, reachable on the S marked path, remaining on the asphalt.)