If you’re heading to the High Tatras for the first time, you’re in the right place. This article walks you through the High Tatras’ beginner routes. We’ll show you 5 routes that even a complete beginner can handle, and which still reward you with views no other range in Europe will give you.
We’ll also recommend when to go, how to prepare and what to take, plus we’ll throw in bonus routes for families. So – lace up your boots, fill your bottle and let’s discover the Tatras step by step.
Why choose the High Tatras for your first mountain hiking
The High Tatras are an ideal start for anyone who wants to try mountain hiking without unnecessary stress.
They offer beautiful nature, good waymarking, a wide network of huts and cable cars that help you cover the first metres of climbing if you’re not sure about your fitness yet. Oh, and they have no bears!
The Tatras have the advantage that even short trips take you to crystal-clear tarns or beneath mighty peaks.
What “beginner” means in the mountains
A beginner isn’t someone who “can’t manage anything”. It’s someone who likes their own rhythm and comfort and doesn’t need to push themselves needlessly. They know that the point isn’t to overestimate your strength – they pick appropriate routes and use their head when they see the weather outside isn’t playing along.
If that description doesn’t fit you, take a look at the 5 routes we walked last summer.
What the Tatras offer beginners
Accessibility: the trailheads are connected to the railway, car parks and cable cars.
Waymarking: Slovak trail marking is among the clearest in Europe. Just like the Czech system!
Infrastructure: huts, refreshments, mountain rescue – all within reach.
Beauty: even from the easy routes you’ll see peaks like Gerlach or Lomnický štít.
How to read route difficulty in the Tatras
In the Tatras a simple rule applies: distance + elevation gain = difficulty. Don’t just go by the colour – read the distance and the elevation gain. If you’re unsure, use Mapy.com as your route planner; it shows you the climbing and the expected time on the trail.
The High Tatras: our pick of routes for beginners
From Štrbské pleso to Popradské pleso
- Length: approx. 6 km (one way)
- Elevation gain: approx. 230 m
- Time: approx. 1.5 h each way
- Difficulty: very easy
The route follows a wide track with gorgeous views. At the end you’ll find Popradské pleso, with the option of refreshments or lunch at the hut. You can head back on the red trail, the Tatranská magistrála.
💡 Tip: If you have the energy, carry on towards Ostrva – even a few dozen extra metres are worth it for the view.
Velické pleso from Tatranská Polianka
- Length: 5.5 km one way
- Elevation gain: approx. 650 m
- Time: 2 h
- Difficulty: easy to moderate
The path runs through forest and past the Velický vodopád waterfall. The reward is Sliezsky dom – a hotel with a restaurant right by the tarn, and a view of Gerlachovský štít!
Hrebienok – the Studený potok waterfalls – Rainerova chata
- Length: 5 km loop
- Elevation gain: under 100 m
- Time: 1.5-2 h
- Difficulty: very easy
A route suitable for families and complete beginners. You take the funicular up to Hrebienok and continue on foot to the waterfalls. Rainerova chata is the oldest hut in the Tatras.
Skalnaté pleso from Tatranská Lomnica
- Length: 6 km one way
- Elevation gain: 900 m
- Time: 2-3 h
- Difficulty: easy to moderate
If you don’t fancy the whole climb on foot, take the cable car halfway up from the spot called “Štart”. The views of Lomnický štít and the Kežmarská Biela voda valley are breathtaking.
A walk around Štrbské pleso
Views of Kriváň and the chance of a coffee by the lake. You’ll definitely appreciate the 2.5 km length. The route is completely undemanding and even works with a pushchair.
Getting around the Tatras
Definitely use the Tatra electric railway (TEŽ). It’s a cheap and pleasant way to travel between the villages – it links Štrba, Poprad, Smokovec and Lomnica. You can buy a ticket easily from a machine or through the ZSSK app. That said, in season individual services can be packed – in which case you’ll have to wait for the next one and stand right at the fro-o-ont.
Car parks by the cable cars and trailheads tend to be full by around 8:00 in season. Popular parking spots include Štrbské Pleso, Tatranská Lomnica and Smokovec.
When to go to the High Tatras
The best window for hiking in the High Tatras is June to September and into early October. If you don’t fancy slaloming between people, avoid public holidays, weekends in July and August (we were there in July during the school holidays :-D) and cable cars after 10 in the morning.
The cable cars to Lomnický štít, Skalnaté pleso, Hrebienok and Solisko run roughly from May to October.
In winter only some of them operate, primarily for skiers. Check current opening hours on the official lanovky.sk or through GetYourGuide, where you can buy skip-the-line tickets. I’d actually recommend that, because when we wanted the cable car up Lomnický štít it came to around 110 EUR on the spot – GRIM! Online you can get it 20-30 % cheaper.
Watch out for thunderstorms – in the Tatras the weather can turn within 15 minutes. It’s worth following the official High Tatras National Park site.
How to combine accommodation and hikes
To get the ideal balance between how far your accommodation is and how easily you reach the trailheads, we’d recommend staying in one of these places.
- Štrbské Pleso: ideal for Rysy and Popradské pleso – for example Vila Polar
- Tatranská Lomnica: close to the cable car up to Skalnaté pleso. Hotel Tulipan has very good reviews.
- Starý Smokovec: the trailhead for Hrebienok and Slavkovský štít. This is probably where there’s the most accommodation – worth going through them and picking to your own taste.
We ourselves stayed in what looked like a great location just outside Poprad. There was one catch 🙂 It was exactly between Poprad and the High Tatras, where the train ran once in a blue moon and it was simultaneously too far to walk anywhere. Don’t make that mistake.
How to get to the Tatras from Czechia
By car is probably the most comfortable option once you’re in the Tatras – though the drive itself feels as long as the week before payday. You’ll feel the comfort mainly at the destination. Don’t forget that Slovakia has an electronic motorway vignette (10-day = 11 €).
By train with RegioJet – there are daily services from Prague all the way to Poprad-Tatry. There’s often a night service too, which we used and it was great. The one thing I’d recommend is paying a bit extra for a better seat (if you don’t want to pay for a berth). Services are run by RegioJet or Leo Express. In Poprad you change to the Tatra electric railway (TEŽ), which takes you to pretty much all the important spots in the Tatras.
By bus is probably the cheapest but also the slowest. RegioJet, FlixBus and Slovak operators.
Suitable for anyone who wants to arrive straight into Poprad and continue by local transport or TEŽ.
Frequently asked questions
Zbojnícka chata, Štrbské pleso or Popradské pleso – ideal for beginners.
September and early October – fewer people, beautiful colours, stable weather.
Yes, but book ahead – especially Téryho and Zbojnícka chata.
