Demänovská Dolina – Demänovská Jaskyňa – Vrbické Pleso – A Unique Cemetery and an Impressive Cave

A fascinating tour featuring attractive sights such as a memorial to the victims of World War I, an observation tower—which offers a magnificent panoramic view of the breathtaking landscape of the main ridge of the Low Tatras and Demänovská Dolina with its lovely rolling hills—a symbolic cemetery, the Demänovská Cave, and the idyllically situated glacial lake Vrbické Pleso—simply stunning, what awaits us today.> From the large parking lot in Demänovská Dolina 01 (1,106 m), we walk back a short distance along the access road and past the reservoir before turning sharply left off the road at the memorial stone. The trail also passes a shrine to a saint, and we reach a wooden observation deck at Ostredok (1,167 m). Looking south, you can see across the many ski lifts to the peaks of the 2,024-meter-high Chopok (to the left of the cable car’s upper station) and, to the west of it, the 2,004-meter-high Dereše mountain. Behind a massive memorial to the 1944 National Uprising, the Pamätník Jána Švermu, we reach the Symbolický cintorín Jasná02 (1,187 m). It is meant to serve as a reminder and a warning that the mountains are not only beautiful but also harbor many dangers! The cemetery features a chapel and a sculpture depicting the mother of a suffering child. Visitors can pay their respects to those who have lost their lives while hiking, skiing, or as a result of lightning strikes or avalanches. We pass the highest point of the hike and arrive at several lookout points. We look down into the valley below, through which we will walk on the way back. To the southwest rise Záklʼuky (1,915 m) and Bôr (1,888 m) (see Tour 17). After the descent, we reach a road along which we walk out of the valley; immediately after the bridge, we keep to the right onto the hiking trail. From the parking lot ahead, we cross the bridge and turn right uphill behind the restaurant. The trail joins a path that leads directly to Demänovská–jaskyňa03 (870 m). After touring the cave, we first head back along the same path, but then turn slightly right before the bridge, heading toward the Wellness Hotel Repiská—located in the hamlet of the same name, Repiská04 (848 m). Shortly before the hotel, the trail forks, and we continue half-left on the forest road. Behind a gate, we cross the stream via a bridge. At a covered picnic area, we leave the forest road at the right-hand bend and continue straight ahead. Another fork in the trail follows, where we turn right. We pass a small house that marks a spring. Upon arriving at the idyllically situated mountain lake Vrbické Pleso 05 (1,022 m), we turn left onto the hiking trail. We pass a covered picnic area and, at the next bridge, turn left onto the path with a railing and head down to the road. About 100 m away, we see the parking lot at the starting point.