Via ferrata in Slovakia's narrowest canyon

Itinerary

• From the center of Čingov (Csingó), follow the S sign downhill to reach the edge of the resort, where tickets for via ferrata can also be purchased.
• From the edge of Čingov (Csingó), follow the K sign through the Hernád gorge (Prielom Hornádu) to the confluence of the Tomášovská Belá valley (Biely potok, ústie branch).
• At the branch, turn into the Tomášovská Belá valley where we follow the Z sign.
• A sign indicates the junction with the Kysel' valley, where we turn right and follow the Z\ sign along the via ferrata to the bridge above the Giant Waterfall (Obrovský vodopád).
• From the bridge, follow the S sign to the first junction (V Kyseli).
• From the V Kyseli junction, follow the Z\ sign again on the last section of the via ferrata to the junction named Kyseľ, rázcestie.
• From the Kyseľ, rázcestie junction, follow the K sign through Kláštorisko to the Biely potok junction, then back across the Hernád gorge to the edge of Čingov (Csingó).
• Reach the bus stop following the S sign.

The detailed description of the route

Long walk to the via ferrata

Leave the Čingov (Csingó) bus stop and center downhill along the S sign, and through the wooded part of the resort reach the Hernád (Hornád) river bank. A limestone pavement rising to the right features a practice via ferrata course running through a cave hollow. Further down, near the parking lot and information boards, is the Na Rázcestí eatery, where you can buy tickets for the Kysel' via ferrata and national park entry, and also rent equipment. (If it is closed by your return, you can return equipment at the mountain rescue base located a few minutes above.)

From here, follow the K sign on the easily walkable wooded section of the Hernád gorge (Prielom Hornádu). A metal bridge crosses the river, followed by a gently undulating walkway. The canyon was only made accessible in the last quarter of the 20th century, but no challenges are expected on this stretch; even the wildest rock formations are replaced by a meadow: to the right is the Tomášov lookout (Tomášovský výhľad) rock gallery. Then turn left, and walk along the Biely potok (White Creek) valley following the Z sign.

One of the longest karst watercourses fills the bottom of the Tomášovská Belá valley. This is more of a valley than a canyon since dramatic rock formations are missing, but the huge reserve protects completely undisturbed forest and a swiftly flowing stream that widens to river size. It is a decorative introduction to the Kysel' canyon. Only a few metal plates with wire cable secured rocky ledges offer excitement, but these are easy to pass, and bridges allow crossing further on. In summer, at low water, you can even walk in the dry riverbed. Higher up in the valley, a nicely located old reservoir feeds the creek, on which felled timber was floated until the 1950s all the way to the edge of the mountains.

Via ferrata in the canyon

At the junction with the Kysel' valley, cross a small log bridge over the joining creek, and a sign points out the via ferrata. Follow the Z\ sign; the route after the junction is unmistakable due to the terrain. It is advisable to eat and drink here then put on your via ferrata equipment because the canyon narrows immediately after the first few meters via a rock slab equipped with metal anchors. Walking just above the creek, advance through a slightly overhanging wall entering the valley throat. Then starts a typical canyon hike; the biggest challenge is keeping feet dry since we will wade in the riverbed. Next to a log jam, the creek forms a roar; wire iron cables help crossing on the rocky ledge to the side.

Without the metal bridges, passing is tricky, wet and slippery log barricades are harder to overcome than climbing the ferrata sections. Before a bend, the canyon widens and huge limestone horns become visible, at the base of which we soon have to find a way. The largest log jam in the entire canyon, at least 4-5 m high, leads up to the Barikád waterfall (Barikádovy vodopád). A noticeable change is that the previously dirty-white or gray limestone walls here turn pitch black due to a 1976 fire that burned the southern walls of Kysel'.

The Barikád waterfall is the first serious via ferrata section inside the canyon; before that, you can still see the twisted elements of an old metal ladder. The steps fixed into the wall first ascend gently behind the approx. 5 m high waterfall, then after climbing over the undercut wall, relatively high on an overhanging rock, you encounter perhaps the most technical meters of the ferrata. The dark crevice does not widen even behind the second waterfall step, but here we again step on the riverbed, stepping over charred, moss-covered pine trunks. The trackless, dark canyon section, hardly seeing the sky, is both chilling and impressive. Further ascents help cross a water pool, then we have to climb a huge log and pebble barricade.

The next section was filled with several meters thick debris after the fire, as the canyon is bordered by rock ribs more than 100 meters high, so whatever broke off above fell here. Soon we reach the small basin of Kápolna waterfall (Kaplnkový vodopád), where metal steps fixed into rock grooves provide the exit. Comparing older photos, it is noticeable that the former approx. 10-11 m waterfall has shrunk to about 4-5 m, the rest was filled up by debris from the fire, and the creek now falls from somewhat higher than before. The first explorers, led by Tivadar Meszléry, saw the waterfall in a secluded environment as a sanctuary of natural forces and named it Kossuth Chapel in 1906.

The Kápolna waterfall is just a forerunner of what is probably the wildest part of Kysel' and Slovak Paradise, the Temnica or Börtön cleft. At a small roar begins a series of wires and metal anchors hammered into the wall, on which sometimes we climb on slightly overhanging walls up to 4-5 meters high, while the rocks completely close around us. Except for some mossy ledges, black and gray colors dominate, and the ravaged creek's huge whirlpools carve deep into the enormous walls—visible even high up, showing slow progressive erosion. We walk in an improbably narrow cleft where the sky disappears, and the creek rumbles through the gap. Then, in a wide basin (vodopád v Temnici), swirling water illustrates the formation of the basins, and the via ferrata route ascends the wall behind a debris-covered waterfall. Here it indeed feels like walking inside a cave; hardly any light reaches into the “rock tube” — the tight walls approach so much we step from one to the other. At the end of a short traverse, crossing another link of the waterfall chain, we arrive at an empty, nearly dark basin, and climb with ease on ladder-forming plates on a “basin cave” wall.

Exiting the “crack”, the pressure eases from the dramatic rocky world glowing with crater-like erosion hollows, although we still walk in a shady, narrow canyon. For a while, we walk in the riverbed, and despite the tall walls, the environment is green. A longer but relatively simple and comfortable traverse follows in a wider, visually striking, slanting wall, straight rock corridor. Towards the end, the limestone mass grows monumental again, but after a bit of climbing, we only have to avoid debris to reach the final point of the via ferrata, the dazzling basin at the Ribbon Waterfall (Obrovský vodopád). The 60 meter high waterfall is the second highest in the mountain range and was long an insurmountable obstacle for adventurers exploring Kysel's beauties. Since Tivadar Meszléry was the first to reach it from above, it was later named after him—although the first crossing was by Kázmér Kozlovszky, who with his team built wooden scaffolds locally to bridge each terrain step.

A short encore

Today, thanks to the via ferrata, it is not difficult, and although the ladder-forming steps series may look daunting, it is quite easy to climb to the waterfall top. There you can admire the basin from a bridge overhead, then, following the S mark, proceed through a narrow series of basins beside a spectacular waterfall chain on trays and metal walkways equipped with chains, needing no securing. The canyon mellows into a valley, and the path winds uphill. However, do not head towards Kláštorisko yet but switch to the Z\ contour line sign, which leads to the last waterfalls of the united Kysel' branch. After a few wading points, again clutching wires and stepping on metal rungs, we pass a small roar. Then follows the Karoliny waterfall (Karolinyho vodopád), named after one of the first unsuccessful attempts to conquer the canyon by this trail: its first level is a wide rock bowl, where we inch along a half-arc on the rock wall to the waterfall's middle tier. Water rushes powerfully into a narrow crevice made passable by a bridge, then roars swirling below our feet, making a right-angle turn to fall in the lower waterfall. After climbing a few steps beside the waterfall, the canyon's united section ends, and from the junction, it continues in two branches.

Across the plateau

However, we follow the K sign turning right and quickly climb up to the plateau along the “Haymakers' path.” Small paths branch off to the right from the forest trail; take a short detour at the second opportunity to admire the Kysel' rocks from above, which we clung to an hour earlier at the bottom. In a few minutes, we reach Kláštorisko (Refuge Stone) mountain settlement, where, during the summer season, a buffet, beer machine, (seasonal) bike rental, and mountain rescue base operate constantly (except weekends). The monastery ruins below provide a border for the Carpathian panorama of blood, as the forest retracts. On the wide meadow, the view stretches towards the long Tatras chain. Kláštorisko was a significant early 20th-century nature walk location opening on the karst, with the first larger tourist house built here in the Slovak Paradise (in 1922). The monastery, large even in ruins, was built by Carthusian monks in the 14th century and operated only until mid-century. Earlier, during the Tartar invasion, surrounding villagers fled to the protected plateau, from which comes the name Lapis refugii, meaning Refuge Stone.

Following the K sign upward, enjoy one of Slovakia's best panoramic high-Tatra views, also seeing surrounding ridges framed by canyons before entering mixed forest. We cross the plateau's 893 m high summit and emerge from a charming forest path on one of the national park's most beautiful viewpoints, Čertova sihoť, the Devil's Island precipice. From the bare cliff, a huge forest of the Tomášovská Belá valley unfolds, entirely protected by a vast reserve with no clearcuts. To the right, the lower Tatra's Kráľova hoľa peak appears in the distance. Our path descends here, offering railings and chains for hold on steep and slippery sections. In 1896, this exact trail was marked as the mountain range's first tourist path. Below, a few metal plates and chains assist before crossing a small bridge over the Biely potok (White Creek) and returning to Čingov (Csingó) resort on the known route along the K sign.