High Tatras

Straddling the border between Slovakia and Poland, the High Tatras are one of Europe's most dramatic and least-visited mountain ranges. These strikingly beautiful craggy peaks, rising to 2654m, pack an extraordinary concentration of alpine scenery into a compact area of national parks, with well-engineered waymarked paths, historic mountain chalets and some of the finest ridge walking in Central Europe. This fourth edition Cicerone guidebook by Renáta Nározná and Colin Saunders is the most comprehensive English-language companion to walking and scrambling in the Tatras, covering 180 routes across the High, Western and White Tatras in both Slovakia and Poland. Routes range from easy lakeside walks to strenuous ridge traverses and exposed scrambles, with the best walking between July and October. 180 routes across three mountain ranges, spanning the Slovak High and White Tatras and the Polish Tatras, from the resort of Zakopane in Poland to the linked villages of Starý Smokovec, Tatranská Lomnica and Štrbské Pleso in SlovakiaRoutes for all abilities are included, from gentle valley walks linking resorts and mountain lakes to strenuous ridge traverses, exposed scrambles and a new via ferrata across the Priecne Sedlo saddleThe Tatranská Magistrála, the celebrated long-distance ridge trail traversing the Slovak High Tatras, is described in detail alongside the full network of waymarked red, blue, green and yellow routesComprehensive practical information throughout, covering accommodation in mountain chalets and resort villages, travel by the Slovak Tatras tramway, selected summit timings and a Polish-Slovak glossarySummit lists, gazetteer and suggested kit list included, making this a thorough planning resource for anyone visiting the Tatras for the first time or returning to explore further Written by Renáta Nározná, a native of the Slovak Tatras and former mountain guide, alongside Colin Saunders, the guidebook combines first-hand local expertise with practical clarity. Few mountain ranges in Europe offer such accessible alpine terrain so far off the mainstream walking trail — this guidebook is the key to finding it.