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Daphne Collier
about 1 month ago
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A Day in Slovakia: Legacy of Nature and History

This might be the first travel guide for a same-day round trip from London to the Tatra Mountains in Slovakia. Itinerary: - 5:05-8:35 ✈️ London Luton -> Poprad - 9:36-10:01 🚄 Poprad -> Starý Smokovec - 11:30-11:40 🚞 Starý Smokovec -> Hrebienok - 11:40-14:00 🚶 Hrebienok -> Téryho chata - 14:00-15:30 🚶 Téryho chata -> Hrebienok - 15:30-15:40 🚞 Hrebienok -> Starý Smokovec - 16:02-16:25 🚄 Starý Smokovec -> Poprad - 16:41-18:32 🚄 Poprad -> Košice - 22:35-00:10 ✈️ Košice -> London Stansted Trip Overview: Initially, my impression of Slovakia was limited to its capital, Bratislava. However, I stumbled upon the fact that the Carpathian Mountains, the second-largest mountain range in Europe, have their highest peak, Gerlach Peak (2,654 meters), in Slovakia. This section is known as the Tatra Mountains and serves as a natural border between Slovakia and Poland. Conveniently, London Luton offers direct flights to Poprad, a city at the foot of the Tatra Mountains (London truly lives up to its reputation as the most connected city in the world, with flights to all three of Slovakia's airports). Poprad has train connections to two towns at the base of the mountains: Starý Smokovec and Tatranská Lomnica. These two towns are interconnected, forming an inverted triangle with Poprad at the bottom, Starý Smokovec to the west, and Tatranská Lomnica to the east. Starý Smokovec (1,018 meters) has a ground cable car that goes to Hrebienok (1,285 meters), which is the starting point for the mountain trails. Tatranská Lomnica (850 meters) has an aerial tramway to Štart (1,173 meters), from where you can transfer to another cable car to Skalnaté pleso (1,751 meters). From there, multiple cable cars continue to climb, with the highest point being Lomnický štít (2,634 meters). Along the way, there are several ski resorts, making this a highly developed and mature tourist area (one of the advantages of European mountain ranges is their high accessibility). It's important to note that cable cars often undergo maintenance and may be out of service. I happened to encounter a complete shutdown of the cable cars on the Tatranská Lomnica side, so I had to enter the mountains on foot from the Starý Smokovec side. You can find maps, mountain weather conditions, and cable car maintenance schedules In the evening, I traveled to Košice, Slovakia's second-largest city, located near the Ukrainian border, to catch my flight back to London. Košice combines Eastern European classic architecture with Soviet Brutalist style and is definitely worth a visit. Important Notes: - Be prepared for snow, slippery conditions, and bears. #Europe #Slovakia #Hiking #Mountaineering

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