Demänovská Dolina - A beautifully designed nature trail

The Demänovská Valley is the best-known and most-visited region of the Low Tatras. It is 15 km long and is the largest and most important tourist center on the northern side of the mountain range. The Demänovská Valley Nature Trail was created to provide information about the area’s fauna, flora, history, geology, geography, and nature conservation; it features 12 informational signs. This extended hike leads uphill along the Demänovka River and downhill along the Zadná River. The constant murmur of several streams is our constant companion on this loop hike. Despite the fact that the trail passes through the Jasná ski resort, we rarely come into contact with the resort’s ski lifts; for the most part, we hike through unspoiled nature. When the weather is nice, you can see to the south how the mountains of the Low Tatras rise up, rugged and wild. It doesn’t take much to make a person happy; most of the time, it’s enough just to be outside and experience nature, just like on this hike.> At the Lúčky01 parking lot (938 m), we head east, passing Chata Lúčky on the left, and at the next fork in the road, we take the left branch. We follow the trail to the information sign and, after the roadblock, walk directly along the stream—on the hiking trail. At a bridge, we stay on the forest road. Shortly past a bridge with a 10-metric-ton weight limit, our hiking trail branches off slightly to the right. It leads between two tree stumps. 50 m before the trail would cross the stream to the left, we branch off to the right again. We reach another information sign. The subsequent ascent leads through a pristine and untouched forest. We reach yet another information sign. Our trail ends at Záver Širokej doliny02 (1,416 m), and instead of continuing straight ahead, we turn right onto the rocky path. We cross two stream beds, reach the next information board, and come to the clearing of a ski slope. We cross the slope to continue the ascent along the right edge of the slope, following the trail markers. We also cross the next ski slope and then continue climbing along the right edge of the slope, next to a wooden fence. 10 m above the mountain station, the trail continues uphill on a stone-paved path, which branches off to the right after about 100 m and leads through the mountain pines. We walk under a chairlift, cross a tow path, and thus reach the top station of the Luková Lift03 (1,682 m), which is also the highest point of the loop hike. From here, we do not continue ascending but head toward the next lift located behind us, so that we can turn right directly in front of it onto the downhill path, which is also paved with stones. We once again come to an information sign at the fork in the trail on the left, pointing toward Brhliská. We hike across a wooden bridge alongside a romantically situated lake. At Brhliská, we see more ski lifts below on the right, but we continue in the direction we’ve chosen toward Tri vody04 (1,370 m) and pass the next information sign. The trail ends at Tri vody; as we walk downhill to the right on the hiking trail, we pass information boards located along the side of the path. The route is clearly marked on the longer descent that follows. After walking a considerable distance along the paved road, we turn slightly to the right onto a path just before the Hotel Sorea Marmot, so that we now pass this hotel on our right. Before reaching several houses, we do not follow the path continuing through the right-hand curve but instead head slightly left onto a trail leading down to the road below. We cross this road and pass directly by the Hotel Mikulášska Chata05. Behind the hotel’s parking lot, we continue up some stairs onto a wide path above Lake Vrbické Pleso. Past the children’s playground, we follow the path through the right-hand bend, then, after crossing the bridge over the lake’s outlet, turn left and continue to the main road, where the information sign is located. We walk past the bus stop, the large parking lot, and the next lake until we reach the traffic sign indicating parking areas P1 and P2. The path that follows through the forest of the lower Demänovská Valley06 (1,118 m) is not easy to find at first, as there are no trail markers. Following a stream, the trail leads downhill through a wooded area to the access road to the ski resort. We hike along the left side of the road back to the starting point.