Ohnište - Slovakia's Largest Rock Gorge and Deepest Glacial Crevasse

This tour takes you along one of the most beautiful circular hiking trails in the region, featuring two top attractions and leading to a place that is both powerful and unassuming. After a strenuous climb along a rarely used hiking trail, we reach the 80-meter-deep Große Eislücke. Depending on the season, amount of precipitation, and prevailing temperature conditions, there may be an ice cone up to 10 meters high at the bottom of the cave. Unfortunately, it’s impossible to make out this ice cone in the darkness of the cave. Next comes the most spectacular section of the hike. A narrow path winds through grassy, steep mountain slopes, below a massive limestone cliff band. Here, you’ll also find the next TOP attraction: the 10-meter-high Okno Ohnište rock cleft, the largest of its kind in Slovakia. The return trip follows a scenic high-altitude trail that runs parallel to the main ridge of the Low Tatras; the 2,043-meter-high Ďumbier and the 2,025-meter-high Štiavnica are close enough to touch.> From ParkingLot 01 (793 m), we walk about 85 m along the spur road into the valley, then turn slightly right over a bridge onto a dirt road. At the level of a hunting blind, the dirt road ends, and we continue uphill on a rutted track, now across meadows. To the left below in the valley, we can see the conveyor systems of a mine. A steep ascent across more meadows follows. The rarely used trail is difficult to make out. Where the trail meets a dirt road, we turn left and head uphill. Behind a dip, the path is hard to follow: We turn left and then follow a long, sweeping right-hand bend—at first it seems as though the trail ends—until we see the path continuing. At the next saddle, we have an unobstructed view of the High Tatras to the north and the Low Tatras to the south. Crossing meadows, we reach a hut and the gravel road behind it, which we follow uphill to the right. We ignore a road that branches off sharply to the right. After a short downhill stretch, we reach a right-hand turnoff02 (1,188 m); this trail leads steeply uphill. Through the sparse forest, you can see the rocky peaks of Mount Ohnište to the left and above in places. As soon as we reach the first flat section of the trail in a clearing, we head slightly to the left at this key point and follow an unmarked path to the edge of the forest. There, you’ll find the narrow path that continues onward. Throughout this entire section, up to the main trail ahead, you’ll need good navigational skills to find your way. Behind a rock and at the subsequent fork in the trail, we turn left and head downhill, reaching the 80-meter-deep Veľká ľadová priepasť (Great Ice Chasm)03 (1,551 m). We now descend steeply along the continuing trail and pass yet another entrance to the ice chasm. Note: We are in a nature reserve and must not stray from the hiking trails! After a short stretch, you could ascend to the right through a gully in the rock ledge—our return route—but we continue straight ahead. On a very rocky and steep section, we use our hands for support and reach the approximately 10-meter-high rock gate at Ohnište04 (1,471 m). From a nearby overlook, you can see the highest peak of the Low Tatras to the southwest—the 2,043-meter-high Ďumbier—and to its left, the 2,025-meter-high Štiavnica. We first head back along the same path, then turn left at the previously mentioned gully to climb up through the rock ledge. This trail now follows the rocky ridge over the summit of Ohnište (1,538 m). We ignore a trail branching off to the left and leading downhill. If you still remember the key section from the way there, you can turn right into the forest. If you can’t find it, simply continue along the main trail—as shown in the recorded GPS track. You’ll automatically reach the trail from the outward journey and descend to junction02 (1,188 m), where you turn right toward Svidovské sedlo05 (1,133 m). There, follow the yellow trail marker across grassy meadows. At a watering hole, the trail veers slightly to the right and heads downhill, eventually merging with a wider path. This path now runs alongside a stream. On the gravel road that follows, we cross the stream bed to the right and then head downhill to the left on the paved road. You are allowed to walk along the road past the mine’s conveyor systems back to the starting point.