Nizke Tatry - Slovakia (Low Tatras)

The densely forested hills of the Low Tatras (Nizke Tatry) run parallel to the High Tatras, sprawling between the valleys of the Vah and Hron rivers. They form the center of an 810 square kilometer (311 square mile) national park packed with thick forests, indigenous wildlife, and hidden caves. The main ridge is 80 km (50 miles) long; the highest peak is Dumbier (2,042 m or 6,810 ft) while Chopok (2,024 m or 6,746 ft) attracts the most tourists.

Somewhere an old travel book says the geographic heart of Europe is tn the wooden mountains of the Low Tatras. Heart - the word is used so much it loses its significance. But soul - is seems right that Europe's should be in the wilderness.

From the top of Dumbier, you can see Hungary, the edge of Polana and almost all of Slovakia.

Compared to the High Tatras, the Low Tatras are virtually untouched. Chopok and Dumbier offer the most popular vantage points; the rest of the peaks have no single lookout spot - the view just happen as the trail turns or crests above the trees. This is where to come to meet nature. Buy a tourist map and explore this untouched part of Europe.

High Country

The highest ridge of the Low Tatra range comes to a terminus at the Certovica pass. But east of here is where Slovakia's only true high country begins. Unlike the mountains to the north and west, the high country isn't in the shadows of craggy peaks, nor does it have urban base camps like Banska Bystrica, Zilina or Liptovsky Mikulas below. It is merely high, and remote.

Information centers: Liptovsky Mikulas, Brezno

Predna hola

Dumbier peak

Derese peaks

Challet