help to identify the many species of birds, as well as animals in the distance.
Vegetation and wildlife in mountainous regions are strongly affected by the altitude and prevailing weather. The mountains can be divided into a number of biological zones, described below. The altitudes are given as a general guide, but there will be many variations in particular areas, influenced by location, prevailing weather and rock type.
You are very likely to see swathes of fallen trees wherever you go in the Tatras. This is the result of very strong winds that blow on both sides of the border: in Slovakia they are called, for obvious reasons, calamitá (plural calamity), are cold and blow from the north in winter; in Poland halna (plural halny), which are warm and blow from the south in spring and autumn. But see also the chapter on the Tatranska Bora on page 72.
Sub-Tatras Basins (below 700m)
Approaching the High Tatras from the Podtatranská Kotlina (Sub-Tatras Basin) in Slovakia, or Podhale in Poland, you are surrounded by rather poor-quality agricultural land, which, as well as providing grazing for livestock, mainly produces crops such as potatoes and oats, and to a lesser extent rye and millet. Farming communities at between 700m and 900m mark the edge of the agricultural plains. In Slovakia, these include Tatranská Štrba, Mengušovce, Batizovce, Gerlachov, Nová Lesná, Stará Lesná and Stráne pod Tatrami. In Poland, Chochołów, Poronin and Bukowina Tatrańska.
The Sub-Tatras Basin from near Štrbské Pleso, Slovakia (photo: J Rizman)
In and around these villages, as well as the common birds seen in most parts of Europe, and of course cattle and sheep, you may see white storks nesting in the spring, and perhaps some black grouse.
Forest zone (700m to 1600m)
In the Slovak Tatras the forest zone is reckoned to occupy the territory between 700m and 1600m. However, in November 2004 the Taranská Bora (see page 72) destroyed most of the trees below 1250m, so at present the forest zone starts at around this level. The dominant tree species is spruce, with occasional interlopers such as larch, Arolla pine, birch, mountain ash and willow. In the lower affected areas, it seems likely that in due course this will be replaced by a regime of mixed forestry, containing coniferous and deciduous species in equal proportions. In some places the forest may be allowed to revert to meadows.
A string of villages and hamlets lines the southern slopes of the Tatras giants between 900m and 1300m, taking advantage of the clean air and pure spring water to pronounce themselves mountain resorts or spas: Štrbské Pleso, Vyšné Hágy, Nová Polianka, Tatranská Polianka, Smokovce (the Smokovec villages), Tatranská Lesná, Tatranská Lomnica and Tatranské Matliare.
In Poland the town of Zakopane and its satellites have spread up the valley of the Cicha Woda (Quiet Water) and adjoining hillsides between 800m and 900m, while the expanding communities of Kościelisko, Murzasichle and Małe Ciche occupy neighbouring valleys and ridges. Higher up, apart from the tourist station of Kuźnice, there are just occasional collections of shepherd huts in the valleys and meadows. Tourism now dominates Zakopane and, despite still basically being farming communities, the surrounding villages – especially Bukowina Tatrzańska – are developing their facilities with many new hotels, guest houses and restaurants having opened in recent years.
In forested areas a few shrubs can be found in the undergrowth: bilberry, cranberry, mountain strawberries and raspberries, the poisonous daphne and the alpine clematis. But the best floral displays occur in the spring and summer, taking over the clearings and meadows. At various times, crocus, cowslip, daisies, buttercups, foxglove and golden lily are in abundance, while in certain areas rarer species such as orchids (including lady’s slipper) may be spotted. A wide variety of fungi can be seen.
During the daytime, roe deer, red deer and foxes may run across the meadows, or browse among the trees within sight of the paths. Early risers may see a badger, otter,weasel or stoat. On autumn evenings the baying and bellowing of the deer can be heard for miles. In the parks and woods of the mountain resorts black and brown squirrels run riot, and on the Slovak side red squirrels may also be spotted in more remote areas.
Less likely to be seen, in areas rarely visited by (and in some cases barred to) walkers, are wildcats, martens, lynxes, wolves, wild boar and even bears. These are mostly on the eastern, western and northern fringes of the High Tatras. Bears tend to hibernate in Poland as the snow lies longer there. These potentially dangerous animals are unlikely to attack unless provoked, but in recent years have been making nocturnal visits to the Slovak villages to forage for food – measures are being taken to prevent this. If you are nervous about meeting such creatures, and if you visit the less crowded areas, do not go alone, but with a number of companions. Check the current situation at an information office (and see also page 329).
Something that may surprise you, if you have visited other mountainous parts of Europe such as the Alps or Pyrenees, is the lack of cattle and sheep on most mountain pastures. A law was passed in the 1950s forbidding farming because livestock were considered to have caused too much soil erosion. This has been relaxed a little on the Polish side, to keep up the shepherding tradition, where cattle and sheep can now be seen, and the gentle tinkling of cowbells heard, at Polana Chochołowska, Dolina Kościeliska and Hala Kalatówki in the Western Tatras, and at Hala Kopieniec and Rusinowa Polana in the High Tatras. You may sometimes find sheep’s-milk cheese on sale there.
Anemone narcissiflora
Among the birds, woodgrouse, woodcock and partridge abound, and you may hear the distinctive song of a thrush, or the mocking call of a cuckoo. Watch out for the cheeky little alpine accentor, brown all over and similar in size to a robin, likewise very tolerant of humans, but rather than displaying a red breast flashes a patch of under-wing red in flight. Darting over and around the many turbulent streams, you will surely spot a dipper, or a yellow wagtail, and in the streams themselves swim several varieties of trout. Colourful butterflies, including red admiral, brimstone and peacock, flutter among the flowers and sheep in fields and meadows.
Sub-Alpine (Dwarf Pine) zone (1600m to 1850m)
At around 1600m the lofty conifers run out of soil deep enough for their sprawling roots. Here, densely huddled for protection against the fierce winter wind and cold, dwarf pines, with their shorter roots, take over for another 250m or so, before the ground becomes too rocky even for the grip of these tenacious little trees. Here the anemone, edelweiss, gentian, helianthemum and other hardy species thrive.
Alpine zone (1850m to 2300m)
From 1850m upwards, the surface is predominantly bare rock that seems to have no capacity to harbour life, yet life can be found in the cracks – usually tufts of grass or a stunted dwarf pine. There are some grassy alpine meadows, too, where flowers will bloom briefly in July and August, but at this altitude only the hardiest plants manage to exist.
Helianthemum grandiflorum
You will see an occasional lone giant, or a small clump of them, among the dwarves, and sometimes even higher. Usually they are oval-crowned Arolla pine (sembra), defiantly thrusting roots through cracks in the rock to find soil. The outermost limbas in a clump will be branchless on their northern sides, where they are battered by the prevailing winter winds – they are called flag-trees. Sometimes a birch, mountain ash or willow may occur in the dwarf pine belt. The fruit of the limba was once collected by shepherds to provide an aromatic additive to the oil used in spa treatments, but this activity is now banned in the national parks.
A strikingly deep blue gentian (Ciminalis clusii)
You should watch out particularly for the shiny black moss that covers some granite boulders high up above the tree-line – it is very slippery when wet, and rough enough to cut your skin.
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