Journey following the traces of vanished glaciers across the High Tatras crossroad

Itinerary

• From Lysá Poľana, the K trail runs through the Poduplaszki (Bielovodská dolina) and the Litvorovi valley (Litvorová dolina) to the branch below the Polish Saddle (Poľský hrebeň).
• We climb up to the Polish Saddle (Poľský hrebeň) on the Z trail from the branch above the Frozen Lake (Zamrznuté pleso).
• From the Polish Saddle (Poľský hrebeň) the S trail leads up to the Kis-Viszoka (Východná Vysoká) peak, and we descend back on the same route.
• From the Polish Saddle (Poľský hrebeň) we descend through the Velická dolina (Velická dolina) to the Tatranská Polianka (Tatranská Polianka) railway station on the Z trail, then on the last hundred meters we hike down a street without markings.

Detailed description of the hike

In the ice-carved mountain range of the Poduplaszki Valley

Starting from Lysá Poľana, a small settlement with just a few houses and a former border bus turnaround. Here we can still find a grocery store to restock supplies if needed. After turning off the main road leading to Poland into the stream valley, a long route lies ahead without any dining or lodging options. The Poduplaszki Valley (Bielovodská dolina) is a peaceful border area of Slovakia with sparse human presence and even fewer buildings. The last inhabited place is Bialka Meadow (Bielovodská poľana), with a local forester's lodge. Further up, only a temporary campsite is found far away on the other side of the High Tatras in the middle section of the Velická dolina, where the Silesian House (Horský Hotel Sliezsky Dom), a mountain hotel above the forest line, awaits.

A wide forestry road climbs the valley; we walk upstream against the flow on the K trail, following it throughout the valley except for a few hundred meters before the pass where we leave it. The wide bed of the Bialka stream (Biela voda) meanders under the road through a sparse pine forest; on its right bank, posts mark the state border. During snowmelt, the swollen flood roar flows through the bed, hinted at by the log barriers built along the bank. Limestone mountains rise above us at the feet of the Tatras: this rock block, including the Polish foothills and the Belianske Tatry, slid off from the folding granite bedrock and rose along the granite core to great heights. The limestone cliffs of Tisovka tower above us — a very popular winter climbing spot where the most experienced mountain athletes tackle frozen waterfalls and icy rock faces.

Having left the foothills, after traveling over two kilometers, we reach an open area, the Bialka Meadow (Bielovodská poľana) clearing, guarded by a forester’s house on the edge over the quiet valley. From here, there is a splendid view of the mountain ranges ahead — the main massif of the High Tatras with several deep valleys. We will enter the summit region on the left valley, but the largest notch, the Halas Lake Valley (Dolina Rybieho Potoku), is already on the Polish side, one of the busiest, most popular (and perhaps most beautiful) parts of the High Tatras.

After the fork of the Halas Lake Valley, we cross to the other side of the stream as the border line also curves to the ridge rising to the right. At about halfway through the long forest hike, there is a covered resting place on the edge of a clearing for recharging. To the right above us extends the huge granite palace of the Molnár (Mlynár) towers, one of the main sights in the next kilometers — a series of granite walls climbing to the sky. A large white scree slope illustrates the constant changes of the rocky world: thousands of tons of rock split off from the Molnár block by the end of the 2010s. The forest near its base looks noticeably damaged; many pines are sick or already dead.

Above the white ribs, the main ridge of the High Tatras is outlined; our path leads further into this summit-ringed, barren rocky world. Passing the turn-off to the Poduplaszki Valley mountaineer camp, the previously gently ascending path begins a steeper climb up the steep valley head. We reach the end of the Poduplaszki Valley, where the Czech Lake (Česká dolina), Duck (Kačacia dolina), and Litvorovi valleys branch off in three directions. Passing the semi-circular trough-shaped depression of the Duck Valley, we have a great view of the Duck Valley waterfall (Hviezdoslavov vodopád) formed by the creek flowing out from it, visible continuously from the winding path above. The 60-meter cascade is one of the largest waterfalls in the mountain range.

In the sudden ascent, we overcome nearly 300 meters of elevation in barely one kilometer, during which the character of the landscape radically changes. In the rocky hillside, only a few sparse pine and birch groups stand, dominated from here on by dwarf pine bushes, above which we have a great view of the surrounding peaks. The main ridge of the High Tatras, which bends just above us from Litvorový peak (Litvorový štít) to Ganek, is a prominent sight. We barely avoid the Kacsavölgy Green Lake (Zelené pleso Kačacie), surrounded by the impressive, uniformly northern faces of the peaks, and only see it in parts through the dense dwarf pines; following the Litvorovi valley (Litvorová dolina) upwards to the left, we quickly reach the water surface of Litvorovi lake (Litvorové pleso) one level higher. All lakes lie beneath steep cliffs, characterized by bowl-shaped depressions representing the imprint of ice formation and landscape-shaping activity of glaciers. In these depressions, large amounts of snow have accumulated, compacted into ice, spilling over the edges and starting to erode the granite massif.

In the increasingly rocky environment, dwarf pines eventually disappear, replaced by alpine turf carpet covering more stable surfaces. Above us guards the massive ridge of Hrubá veža (Hrubá veža) over the valley. Passing the last cliff face, we arrive in one of the harshest basins of the High Tatras, near the Frozen Lake (Zamrznuté pleso). The landscape is almost entirely defined by rocks broken down into piles of debris. The tarn is covered with an ice shell most of the year, melting only during the summer months, though ice-packed snow patches remain around it even then. The path circles the lake, and on the scree slope on the far side, we reach the first junction. Here, crossing the K trail to the Prielom (Prielom) pass secured with chains, we can make a detour to the Long Lake Hut (Zbojnícka chata), from where we can return to our hike the next day or descend via the Veľká Studená dolina valley to Starý Smokovec.

Otherwise, our original direction leads toward the Polish Saddle (Poľský hrebeň), which we ascend on the Z trail via a serpentine path supported with railings and steps. At the saddle, we reach the peak of Kis-Viszoka (Východná Vysoká), a central rock summit accessible from the main ridge hiking trail, offering stunning panoramas. From the saddle, the southern side opens up; we look into the Velická dolina, the terrain of our descent, dominated by the granite massif of Gerlachovský štít, the highest peak in the Carpathians at 2655 meters, supported by a wide system of rock walls and talus piles at its base on the valley floor.

Summit attempt and triumphant descent on the southern side

One last push climbs over 200 meters to the 2428-meter summit of Kis-Viszoka (Východná Vysoká). The north face of this characteristically pyramid-shaped mountain drops sharply with huge walls, so carefully follow the trampled path navigated on the S trail. The path immediately above the saddle crosses rocky rises, aided by a few iron staples and chains to overcome steep rock cuts. We follow the ridge line, sometimes bypassing the granite slab from the left or right.

A few hundred meters later, the summit slope widens, and the route shifts right to continue on the more comfortable southwest side, away from the northern drop. Climbing, the scree slope narrows finally to a rocky peak. The space opens around us; a grand panorama unfolds from the summit.

The most striking sight is the eastern side of the massif, so far hidden from view: our gaze practically takes off as the granite peak plunges into the wide basin of the Veľká Studená dolina 400 meters below our feet. Many lakes are visible; most striking is the jagged ridge filling the eastern horizon, crowned with Jég-völgyi and Lomnici peaks. To their left, the characteristically pyramid-shaped, banded limestone cliffs of the Belianske Tatry separate from the granite massif of the High Tatras. Turning right, the Bibircs and Nagyszalóki peaks form a separate group away from the main ridge. The massive rock mass of Gerlachovský štít dominates the Velická dolina and the notch under the summit cross, which distinctly breaks the ridge's serrated arch.

The return follows the same route we ascended by, but watch out on the scree slope and especially the snowy patches (if any)! Near the pass's rocky rises, the route is easiest to lose, so if uncertain, turn back and seek the marked path as straying here can have serious consequences.

From the Polish Saddle, we continue on the Z trail. A short chain-secured section descends to the scree slope below, from which a well-built trail winds down to Tatranská Polianka. We bypass the narrowing eastern end of Velické dlhé pleso on the left, then descend briskly on the scree slope below Gerlachovský štít. We encounter the Garnet Walls (Granátová stena) — towering granite walls hanging over Velická dolina. These impressive cliffs are popular climbing targets and create a dramatic atmosphere in the valley.

The granite slab-paved trail reaches flat terrain in front of us, where stretches one of the High Tatras' most beautiful wildflower meadows, the Kvetnica meadow. It was once a shallow lake, now a habitat rich in alpine flowers. On the meadow's edge, we can see a small seasonal lake, receiving the largest waterflow from the eastern side of Gerlachovský štít, from the Karcsmar corridor, one of the classic winter routes to the peak. At the meadow's far end, the valley suddenly drops off, revealing the continuation of Velická dolina, Velické pleso, and the block of the Silesian House on its shore. Descending 200 meters on the steep lakeside, we arrive at the lake shore where there is an opportunity to rest, eat, drink, or even stay overnight in the mountain hotel (which has a separate tourist section inside).

The Silesian House was built in 1895 by the MKE's Silesian section to replace the Hunfalvy shelter. Due to its popularity, it was expanded further but burned down on November 30, 1962. The current concrete building was completed in 1968, providing broader resting opportunities as a mountain hotel. It underwent a complete renovation in 2010, mostly wood-clad outside, with modernized interiors.

After the house, staying on the Z trail, we slowly return to the forest, initially crossing through dwarf pine, spruce, and Swiss stone pine groups until Velický potok cuts into the soft sediment of the end moraine hill below us. The forest is sometimes lamentably barren, as seen in the upper part of Poduplaszki Valley. Lower down, where the 2004 hurricane devastated the forest, younger mixed woodland shrubs line our path. We see a few surviving old pines, passing through the crownless red firs left after the disaster. Eventually, a sanatorium building appears and a resort settlement made up of several hotels and weekend houses. Here ends our long trek at the railway station crossing the settlement's lower part.