Date: 20th July – 29th July, 2016 · Trekking time: 5 days · Journey duration: 9 days · Water from mountain springs · Start: Telgárt train station · End: Donovaly bus stop
Stockholm to Prague (Czech Republic) 1430 km, on a bus operated by Bohemian lines. I started at 13.00 PM on 20th July from the CityTerminalen (Stockholm Bus terminal) and reached ÚAN Florenc Praha (Prague main bus terminal, Florenc) on 21st at 10.45 AM. The highway goes along the lake Vättern (2nd biggest lake in Sweden) along the E4. The star attractions of bus journey were the amazing sights of the Turning Torso (tallest skyscraper in the Scandinavia), Öresundsbron (Oresunds bridge — an engineering marvel connecting Sweden and Denmark), the full Moon in the sky (from the Denmark to Germany ferry) and the picturesque European countryside throughout.
A KTH colleague and friend, Ondrej, had come to pick me at the Prague bus terminal. We bought the food supplies from the nearby supermarket (oats, bread etc.) which we would need during the hike and then headed to Ondrej's home. Each of our bags now weighted ~20 kgs. Our next journey was from Prague to Poprad (Slovakia) at 21.46 PM by RegioJet. We left home early so that I could do some sightseeing around Prague — Charles bridge, the Palace, Old town square, the Prague orloj (Astronomical Clock). By the sunrise at around 4.30 AM, we could see the Higher Tatras mountains on the left side (north). We reached Poprad at 5.03 AM. Instead of the late direct connection we took a bus till Dobšinská ľadová jaskyňa (means a cave in Slovak) and further a local train to Telgárt, the starting point of our long trek. Our trek officially started at Telgárt train station at 8.32 AM.
स्लोवाकिया मधील लो-तत्रास डोंगररांगा — उत्तराखंड मधील जंगल जर सह्याद्रीच्या डोंगरांवर आणून लावल्यावर सह्याद्री जसे दिसेल, अगदी तसेच !! फरक इतकाच कि रस्त्यावर मँगो-बाईट, पार्ले-जी इत्यादि चे प्लास्टिक नाही सापडणार.
The Lower Tatras is a part of Národný park Nízke Tatry (Low Tatras National Park) abbr. NAPANT which is the biggest national park in Slovakia. Name of this trail is Cesta hrdinov SNP (The trail of the Slovak National Uprising heroes) and goes all the way from Dukla pass to Bratislava via Mt. Ďumbier (2046 m), the highest mountain in the Lower Tatras. This trail in-turn forms a part of European long distance red-marked trail 'E8' which spans across the whole Europe from Cork in Ireland to Istanbul in Turkey (4700 km). The part of the trail from Telgárt to Donovaly is along the mountain ridge — the eastern part mostly forest (with brown bears, fox, lynx), the western part more open and rocky with bigger mountains. It is illegal to camp anywhere on the ridge, apart from the mountain huts and the area close to them. The huts at Ramža and Hiadeľské sedlo are free, while the huts at Andrejcová, Chata Štefánika and Ďurková are operated by locals (from 5 to 20 Euro). But we are free to pitch a tent anywhere near these huts :)
Day 1 — Telgárt → Kráľova hoľa → Andrejcová (6–7 hrs)
We had our breakfast in the village, close to a mountain spring and started again at 10.00 AM. The initial ascent from Telgárt (885 m) till Kráľova hoľa (1948 m) is quite steep and took us 3 hrs in total. The signboards, with warning of the bear sightings, can be seen here. The 137.5 m tall TV tower installed on top of Kráľova hoľa can be seen from far. The top has a room to be used during emergencies, especially during the thunderstorms which happen quite frequently in this region. Its another 3–4 hrs walk to the first shelter, Andrejcová (1420 m), and also the next water source. The Higher Tatras mountains can be seen running parallel on your right. We had a short break where I offered Ondrej one of the Moong Ladoo (मुगाचे लाडू). "Coffee with powdered lentils and sugar", this is how he described it!
We reached the Andrejcová shelter at 4.20 PM — a beautiful hut nestled amidst the mountains, offering excellent view of the setting and the rising Sun. We had cabbage soup with bread for dinner. The calculations for the night were simple: rest from the first day + energy for tomorrow = 9 hrs sleep!!
Day 2 — Andrejcová → Ramža (8–9 hrs)
We woke up at 5.46 AM to find the Sun already up in the sky, and started at 7.37 AM. The trail goes via Pod Kosariskami, climbs to Priehybka (1550 m) where a sign points left to voda (water), then further to Velka Vapencia (1691 m). We met a cyclist there who had camped on the ridge (illegally) and claimed to have seen a bear from a distance of 100 m. The next descend is through thick forest to Priehyba (1190 m) with a mountain stream nearby. We had our first break at Kolesarova (1508 m) and the blueberries kept us quite occupied. Instant energy!
At Zedna Hola a couple warned us about fallen trees blocking the trail — the national park was a victim of a hurricane which had caused major destruction of the forest here in November 2014, and its aftereffects can still be seen today. The trail from Sedlo Homolka (1533 m) to Havrania Polana (1440 m) has many small pine bushes and forest patches; the fallen trees were slowing down the pace. We reached Ramža (1270 m) at 5.30 PM. The Ramža hut can accommodate about 10 people comfortably, is not operated by anyone, and trekkers can stay without having to pay anything.
Day 3 — Ramža → Čertovica → Chata M. R. Štefánika (5–7 hrs)
The day started at 6.46 AM, extra topping of blueberries with the oats. Having filled our water bottles, we departed at 8.00 AM.
गवतावर व झुडूपांवर साठलेल्या पहाटेच्या दवामुळे माझे बूट ओले झाले होते. थोडे वाकून पाहिल्यावर कळले कि उजव्या बुटाच्या अंगठ्या जवळचे चामडे फाटले होते आणि पाणी सरळ आत शिरत होते. ट्रेकचा मुख्य टप्पा तर ४थ्या व ५व्या दिवशी होता कारण ट्रेकचे सर्वात उंच चढ व उतार तेव्हाच होते!
A nice broad cycle track descends from Sedlo za Lenivou (1378 m) to Čertovica (1238 m), which is like a hill station — crowded with picnickers, motorists, cyclists and trekkers. Dark clouds had started to gather, so we had lunch and a big rest till 1.00 PM, then started the next half in the rains. The trail steeply climbs to Lajstroch (1602 m), then up-down to Kumstove Sedlo (1549 m). Chata M. R. Štefánika (1728 m) is another 2 hrs on the ridge. The gun memorial from the 1944 Czechoslovakia uprising lies just before the hut. We pitched our tent near the memorial, and a group of scouts followed with 5 tents of their own. The rains receded, the temperature fell to ~15 °C, and the evening was quiet and peaceful.
Day 4 — Štefánika → Ďumbier → Chopok → Ďurková (6–7 hrs)
Before the alarm went off at 6.30 AM, we were woken up by a man outside our tent, asking us to clear the area ASAP as a helicopter was going to land within half an hour. It was transporting junk from up here to a village below, and fresh ration back up. We enjoyed this drama while having our breakfast, and could still see the helicopter making to-fro journeys for more than 2 hrs after we left at 8.15 AM.
We reached the top of Ďumbier at 9.30 AM, and Chopok at 11.00 AM — Chopok can be accessed by a ski-lift from a village below, so people flood towards Ďumbier carrying tiny backpacks. The weather turned really bad; clouds were crossing over the ridge, killing visibility. We missed a left turn and followed a wrong path to the north — thanks to the GPS and a map Ondrej was carrying, we traced back our route. Lunch at Krížske Sedlo (1774 m), where I offered Ondrej some Bhakarwadi (बाकरवडी) and Karachi biscuit. His descriptions: "Bhakarwadi — rolled bread with some spicy + salty filling"; "Karachi biscuit — sweet vanilla flavored cookie". A mountain goat crossed the trail hurriedly in front of us, all in a blink of an eye. We reached Útulňa Ďurková (1749 m) at 5.00 PM. The ॐ symbol at the entrance caught my eye — inside, Ladakhi flags and Buddhist symbols all over the hut, left by travelers from North India and Nepal, the owner said.
Day 5 — Ďurková → Donovaly (7–8 hrs)
The alarm rang at 5.30 AM and we departed by 7 as planned. The view of the mountains and the clouds trapped between them was just mesmerising. We followed the ridge via Sedlo Zamostskej Hole (1591 m), Latiborska Hola (1643 m), Velka Hola (1639 m), the steep climb to Kosarisko Sedlo (1670 m) and the biggest descend from Velka Chochuľa (1753 m) to Hiadeľske Sedlo (1099 m). Our lunch break there turned into a really long one waiting out a thunderstorm; we finally left at 2.30 PM in the rains. The trail climbs steeply to Kozí Chrbát (1330 m), down to Hadlanka Sedlo, up again to Kečka (1225 m), and through meadows finally down to Donovaly. The final leg was very slippery and filled with mud, and to top it, it was still raining heavily. The sheep and cattle were happily grazing in the meadows.
हा भाग उतरताना आपल्या महाराष्ट्रातील कळसुबाईची आठवण झाली. पावसाळ्यात जसा रस्ता चिखलाने भरलेला असतो अगदी तसाच इथे हि झाला होता!
We reached civilization at 4.30 PM. Bus from Donovaly to Ružomberok at 6.35 PM, train to Prague at 11.30 PM, reaching Prague at 6.15 AM on 27th July. The E8 here is frequented mostly by the Czechs and a few Slovaks — I met one guy from Ukraine and a couple from France throughout the trail (and one Indian, which was me). Rest were all passionate Czech trekkers!
Evening in Prague, 27th July
Someone of my age would usually visit Prague for boozing the shit out of him/her. In order to avoid such crowd and to experience the real beauty of Prague, I decided to explore the city in the evening (night). To my surprise, the Charles bridge was indeed empty! And so was the old city square. The Charles bridge, built by Charles IV, bridges the Prague castle with Old town over the Vltava river — 621 m long, 10 m wide, made out of Bohemian sandstone, with 40 statues, 20 on either side. Only pedestrians are allowed on the bridge.
Back to Stockholm: night bus from Prague to Berlin, Berlin to Malmö and the Nattåget from Malmö back to Stockholm.
Notes for the trail
Its better to carry a rain jacket and waterproof pants. Drinking water is usually not a problem throughout the route. The "Beware of Bear" signboards actually mean it, but its not something to be afraid of if you stick to the trail. Carrying a tent and sleeping bag always helps. Lastly, strictly follow the route markers!!