Západné Tatry - Roháče (West Tatra Mountains) - Slovakia

Extent: 400 km²

West Tatra Mountains form part of Western Carpathian Mountains, and are situated in north part of Slovak Republic. Its part – Roháče – has Alps´ character.

Highest peak: Bystrá (2248 m).

Surface: afforested, pines, in higher sites, there are to be found dwarfish pine-woods, olough-tails and lichens.

Climatic zone: mostly cold.

Mountain nucleus is formed with granites and crystalic slates, on surface with limestones and dolomites.

On a territory with rare fauna and flora, there are to be found mountain lakes (plesa), tourist communities and well marked tourist trails into valleys or to the tops (peaks).

A part of West Tatra Mountains became a part of Tatra National Park in 1987.

Articles

SK, Western Tatras – A Trip to Taťliakova Cabin

Published: 6.3.2024

This time we invite you on a trip to the Western Tatras, more precisely to the Roháč Valley. Our goal will be the alpine Ťatliakova chata, which is an ideal starting point for hiking to Smutný sedlo, Zábrať saddle or, for example, to Roháčské plesy.

We will start at the Šindlovec guest house in the recreational settlement of Zverovka (the village of Zuberec), next to which there is a red-marked barrier-free hiking trail, resp. asphalt road. It is one of the few mountain places where even immobile people can go during the summer season. However, now it will be appreciated mainly by lovers of winter hiking, cross-country skiers and ski mountaineers.

The about three-kilometer section leads through the forest, but it also offers a number of breathtaking views of the snow-capped peaks of the Roháče. About halfway through, we first come across an interesting monument dedicated to the hunter and builder of the first tourist shelter in Roháče - A. Demian, and after a while at the Adamcula crossroads, from where it is possible to connect to the blue marked hiking trail Spálená dolina. However, we continue along the red route and in more than an hour and a half we reach the destination of our walk, Ťatliak's cabin (1374 m above sea level).

"Ťatliačka", as it is familiarly called by mountaineers, was established in 1941 at the crossroads of hiking trails. Not far from the cottage there is a beautiful Ťatliakovo lake, for the more able there are trips to Roháčské ples or to the hills Plačlivé, Ostrý Roháč, Tri kopy, Volovec, Baníkov, simply put along the ridge of the Western Tatras.

The cottage named after the leader of Orava tourism - Jan Ťatliak - offers the possibility of refreshments and accommodation. Please note that these services are only seasonal, or the cottage is closed during the winter. Its architecture is influenced by the style of Orava cottages and it is interesting that during the Second World War, Jews and partisans hid here. It was burned down by German soldiers in 1944, but thanks to the Dolný Kubín Slovak Tourist Club, the restoration began in 1946.

Po obnově opět sloužila turistům, ale v roce 1963 znovu vyhořela. Její obnova už nebyla tak rychlá jako dříve, spíše naopak, trvala dlouhá desetiletí. Navíc v roce 2013 Ťatliakovu chatu zasáhla sněhová lavina, která naštěstí neporušila statiku, a tak se po rekonstrukci opět stala neodmyslitelnou součástí Roháčské doliny.

If you would like little tourism or nature experiences, we recommend combining this trip with a visit to, for example, the adjacent ski resorts,the Museum of the Orava Village or the first accessible cave in Orava and the Western Tatras - Brest Cave. Of course, taking into account current measures.

GPS: 49°12'49.4"N 19°44'51.0"E (Ťatliakova cabin)

Text: Oskár Mažgút

Photos: Oskár Mažgút, HIK, o.z.

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