Intense adventure hike along the boiling stone basins of the Piecky stream

Itinerary

• We start from the Hrabušice, Píla bus stop on the Z trail, passing through the holiday resort.
• Before the end of the settlement, we turn left onto the S trail.
• We hike along the S trail through the Piecky gorge all the way to the valley head (Piecky, vrch junction).
• At the end of Piecky, we climb the plateau on the Z trail up to the corner of Malá Poľana (Little Meadow).
• At the edge of Malá Poľana, we follow the K trail 500 meters south.
• At the end of Malá Poľana, we turn right onto the P trail, ascending the steep hillside above Píla up to the Palc junction.
• From the Palc junction, the S trail leads back to the Hrabušice, Píla settlement area.

Detailed description of the hike

Heading into the karst mountain depths

Our journey begins from Píla, a small mountain settlement bus stop, on the Z trail. In Hungarian, it is called “sawmill camp”, a tiny settlement of just a few houses which is part of Hrabušice (Káposztafalva) located in the valley of Veľká Biela voda (Great White Water). Historically, a sawmill operated here processing wood from the remote forest areas. This settlement, surrounded by substantial forest, lies far from main transport routes on the less disturbed side of Slovak Paradise (Slovenský raj) or, as it was called formerly, the Káposztafalva karst, so it’s a good place for nature lovers seeking a natural experience. The valley itself is already enchanting: outside the summer season, if arriving by public transport, you must walk about an hour from the nearest village border, enjoying splendid meadows and emerald-green stream flowing alongside rock walls.

A few hundred meters from our starting point, among the houses, we reach a junction where the S trail turns left between two farmsteads into a barely perceptible valley. Check the signpost carefully because the route descending is slightly farther south from the forest exit, and that route is also marked with S. The Piecky valley is divided into several parts; the initial 1.5 km section is called Biela dolina, or White Valley. When we reach the narrow streambed, the name becomes clear: the waterless bed is covered with a dazzling white carpet of limestone gravel in a valley shadowed by a closed canopy. The gravel bed sharply contrasts with the surrounding slopes covered with litter and soil. The streambed is reshaped by every flood, especially during spring melt or heavy rains, as millions of limestone gravel tumble downstream, rubbing against each other, polishing their surface, preventing moss growth, and washing out soil, leaving them rounded. The Píľanka stream is barely visible or disappears in places, as its water flows through gaps in the gravel cover and rock fissures in the bedrock.

The hiking trail follows the streambed beside the shyly flowing stream. Little light penetrates the dense canopy; the mixed gorge forest mainly of beech, maple, spruce, and poplar encloses us. Elevation gain is slight, allowing a comfortable walk in the valley’s entrance section. After one kilometer, the path turns sharply left following the stream; small laid wooden ladders (log planks) help bypass protruding rock faces. Until the valley junction, no major surprises await.

Adventure park in the Stredné Piecky gorge

The previously somewhat leisurely forest walk suddenly changes as we reach the junction of the Zadné (Rear) and Stredné (Middle) Piecky. Here is one of the faults splitting the dolomite blocks, along which watercourses carved and formed larger valleys. The lower and upper valley parts are distinctly separated, from here we proceed on a more adventurous and technical path among bare rock walls climbing higher. Ahead lies an inaccessible level outlined by vertical walls; for the first visitors of the gorge, this rock staircase represented the greatest challenge. The impassable cliff is supported by the largest vertical ladder in Slovak Paradise, so only fear of heights might hold you back from ascending the 20-meter rise. At the edge of shifted rock blocks, a straight fracture surface appears, where the 13-meter waterfall of the Great Waterfall (Veľký vodopád) drops the stream. In dry summer, water barely trickles here, but during spring melt or after rains, the continuous misting waterfall is quite impressive. The nearby moss-covered ice walls holding icicles make a spectacular winter sight, easily accessible up to this point. The upper ladder sections, however, are reachable only by hikers experienced in winter and icy terrain.

The 13-meter ladder marks a sharp limit on the hike; looking back from its top, the rocks and people below the waterfall shrink. The sway between anchors gives a floating sensation while climbing. For secure grip, hold onto the rungs! On the next nearly one-kilometer stretch, we mostly walk between rock walls over metal trays and log planks. The stream carved many basins on the valley floor, which gave the Piecky its name, which means “basin” or “oven” in Slovak. Pebbles are visible at the bottom of the pools, continually polishing and deepening the rock substrate during floods. The successive cascades are called the Cascade Waterfall (Kaskádový vodopád), while the upper rocky gorge features the Terraced Waterfall (Terasový vodopád) bridged by a larger, inclined ladder on a stone ledge. After passing a narrow section secured with metal trays and chains, the steepness eases and the rock walls retreat and lower around us. At the upper end of the valley, sediments dominate again.

The visibly gentler environment hosts a sparse forest with a bulldozer trail bypassing the valley broadly in the shade. We cross a road junction and change marking; via a short Z trail connector, we reach the spacious meadow of the Malá Poľana (Little Meadow) plateau. If hiking outside the summer season and needing to return to Hrabušice (Káposztafalva) by public transport, it is worth continuing northwards on the S trail and descending Podlesok via the P trail and then walking to the village.

Wide plateau between the gorges

After a few hundred meters on the Z trail, we take a similarly short walk to the right on the K trail, which leads across to the far side of the meadow. If the weather is good when we reach the plateau, we can see Holló Rock (Havrania skala) on the meadow, one of the summits of the Káposztafalva karst. The meadow is decorated seasonally with colorful flowers, and clearings surrounded by pine forest add fresh spots of color to the mountainous region famous for its gorges. The original human settlement ventured here precisely for these plateau meadows. We stand on the smaller clearing of the Glac plateau; tourist trails avoid the Large Meadow (Veľká Poľana), but many small clearings also exist on the plateau. Originally forested, the plateau has been altered by locals to provide pasture and winter fodder for animals. Ongoing grazing and mowing have preserved rare alpine plants typical of higher, forest-limit permanent meadows. These belong to the most important natural values, so nature conservation professionals maintain and mow the meadows near the forest edge to suppress brushwood.

From the K trail, we turn right onto the P trail, which curves along the southern edge of Malá Poľana back toward Píla. We can cast one last glance at the pine grove clearing before returning to the forest realm. The ridge narrows between the deeply cut valleys of Piecky and Veľký Sokol, maintaining an altitude between 900 and 1000 meters. The view is characterized by alternating pine and beech forests, or walking mixed in them on comfortably undulating terrain. At a few rare points, the surrounding mountains appear, but this section offers little view.

In the middle part of the ridge, we conquer a small ascent before the summit ends. After a sharp left turn, we arrive at the Palc junction along a stony slope, from where we turn northeast on the S trail. The last 200 meters descend somewhat diagonally on a steeply dropping mountainside. Returning to Píla, during the season we can refresh at a buffet or just wait for the bus, or rest tiredness from the adventure and long walk at a wooden table. The hike ends on the same 200-meter Z trail section where it began, leading back to the bus stop and parking lot.