Vyšné Kopské Sedlo in the White Tatras (Red 0930X, Slovakia) (photo: R Turnbull)
The Western Tatras form the second highest mountain range in the Carpathians, with some 20 summits above 2000m, the highest being Bystrá (2248m). While the slate peaks of the Western Tatras are generally lower and less spectacular than those of the High Tatras, there are some fine ridge walks. These are longer, more numerous and more accessible to walkers without a guide than in the High Tatras.
The range includes several sub-groups, including Czerwone Wierchy (Polish) or Červené Vrchy (Slovak), both meaning Red Hills, Osobitá, Roháče, Liptovské Tatry and Liptovské Kopy.
Two particularly worthwhile waymarked ridge walks in the Western Tatras follow separate sections of the border between Slovakia and Poland. However, because of difficulty with access, the westernmost of these requires a two-day expedition, with a long descent into a valley for overnight accommodation. The tourist infrastructure on the Slovak side of the Western Tatras is less developed than in the High Tatras, but is slowly improving.
There is not enough space in this book to describe the Western Tatras in Slovakia, which in any case are not easy to reach from the High Tatras resorts, although you may see them from some vantage points. From Zakopane in Poland, however, some fine routes in the Western Tatras are easily accessible, and so are included in this book.
The White Tatras are a distinctive, 13km long range of pale-grey, limestone peaks rising from grassy slopes. They adjoin the High Tatras transversely, like a hammerhead, at Kopské Sedlo, and have six summits over 2000m, the highest being Havran (Raven, 2152m).
In 1978 the whole of the White Tatras was closed to tourists, apart from two short, low-level walking routes. This was because the routes to the summits and along the ridge had become very badly eroded, and the delicate ecology was under threat. In 1993 the whole range was handed over to the Urbariat (Association of Historical Landowners) of the village of Ždiar, who decided to reopen one route across the range to link up with the High Tatras network. Although initially separate from the rest of the network, it was once part of the ‘Tatranská Magistrala’ (see page 93) and has now been reassimilated into this long route. However, even after three decades of closure, other parts of the White Tatras, once the location of high-level walking routes, had still not recovered enough to be reopened, and they are likely to remain closed for the foreseeable future.
The White Tatras from Veľké Biele Pleso (Blue 2911A, Slovakia) (photo: R Turnbull)
If you do not manage to get into the White Tatras range itself, you can still admire its graceful beauty from several points in the eastern High Tatras, such as Jahňací Štít and Kopské Sedlo, or from the top of the cable-car at Lomnický Štít, or even from the main road at Ždiar to the east.
Adjoining the Tatras, and just creeping onto some maps, are the lesser ranges of Skorušinské Vrchy to the west and Spišská Magura to the east, in Slovakia, but as these are not parts of the main Tatras ranges, they are not covered in this book. Neither are the completely separate Pieniny to the northeast in Poland, nor the Nízke Tatry (Low Tatras) to the south in Slovakia. They are, nevertheless, very attractive areas for walkers, and good walking maps of all these other ranges are available in bookshops and tourist offices in the Tatras and in specialist bookshops abroad.
Altitudes
As altitudes (heights above mean sea level) feature prominently in this book, it is important to point out that you may see different figures quoted, depending on the source of your information, especially where summits are concerned. This is partly because they have been measured by various authorities from three reference points – the Baltic Sea, the Adriatic Sea and satellites – and partly because some references round up while others round down. Sea level varies from the mean in different parts of the world, and large bodies of water that are almost detached from the oceans, such as the Baltic and the Mediterranean, may vary more than most.
Traditionally, and naturally, Poland has taken the Baltic as its reference, while Slovakia has used the Adriatic. However, as the technology used for measurement improves, altitudes are being corrected from time to time. Satellite technology has only recently begun to be used for this purpose, and in due course it seems likely that this will allow such details to settle down to a standard figure. In this book, we have as far as possible used the altitudes accepted by our principal local sources of information.
Early history
The origin of the word ‘Tatra’ and its variants is not certain, but it seems likely that it comes from the Old Slavonic word trtra, meaning high cliff – of which there are certainly plenty in these rugged mountains. The first record of the name so far discovered, in the form ‘Tritri’, is dated 1086 and comes from the archives of the archbishopric of Prague. The first instance of the present spelling, Tatry, was used in a handwritten document dated 1255, and in print in 1545.
Much of the rock that forms the Tatras was created 300 million years ago, by sediment deposited in a huge ocean. A hundred million years ago, over a period of several thousand years, the immense force of a collision between the once separate tectonic plates that carried what is now Italy and the rest of Eurasia created what is now the Alps and, behind them, the Carpathians. So great was this force that some of the land that lay to the south was pushed up and over what is now the High Tatras, to form the hills now lying on the north side.
During various ice ages the Tatras region was one of the few parts of the Carpathians to be covered by glaciers, and successive glacial periods shaped the peaks, gouged the valleys, and left the moraines that dammed the tarns.
Evidence of Late Stone Age human activities (about 5000 years ago) has been unearthed at several locations in the Tatras foothills, including the skull of ‘Ganovce Man’, a cast of which now lies in state in the National Museum in Prague. In the early Bronze Age (about 3000 years ago) the area to the south was densely settled by Turkic people, engaged mainly in sheep farming and other agricultural activities, who appear to have been much influenced by the Mycenean culture of the eastern Mediterranean. Many of their settlements were sited to afford a view of the High Tatra peaks, and it has been suggested that this may have some connection with the religious customs of the time, or it may simply have been to provide better protection from, and a lookout for, approaching enemies.
The land to the north of the Tatras was uninhabited at this time.
Subsequent history is related under ‘Later History’ at the beginning of each of Sections 3 and 4 on Slovakia and Poland.
Vegetation and wildlife
Flowers should be at their best in early July, but please remember that picking flowers, fruit or fungi, and taking cuttings, is strictly forbidden in the Tatras National Park.
Because of the fragile nature of the local wildlife, there are restrictions on taking dogs into the national park areas. In Slovakia they are only allowed in the national park if muzzled and on a lead, but they are not allowed into nature reserves at all. In Poland dogs are not allowed into the national park area at all.
It has been established that some 1300 plant species can be found in the ranges that make up the Western, High and White Tatras, including at every level the most primitive of plants – lichens and mosses – clinging to rocks and dead wood.
In autumn, frost burns the leaves of many of the shrubs and trees to a whole variety of rich hues, from orange and gold to purple and dark brown, enhanced by early morning frost and perhaps a dusting of snow.
There is animal life in abundance in the Tatras, but most species are extremely shy and keep well away from the waymarked walking routes. However, as a result of protection, some species are currently increasing in number and are beginning to lose their fear of humans. On a recent visit, the authors saw chamois, a marmot and a bear in broad daylight at comparatively close quarters.
If you wish to see the more unusual varieties, the best time is early in the morning, when the nocturnal ones are returning to their homes, and before most walkers have arrived. Keep very quiet and wear dark clothes.