Slovak Paradise

Saturday morning bright and early, Marian and Susan picked us up for a weekend trip to some famous spots in Slovakia that were on our 'bucket list' to see --- Slovenský Raj (Slovak Paradise - a very popular national park) and Spiš Castle (one of the largest and best preserved castles in Europe - the biggest in Slovakia).   

We arrived at Slovenský Raj (Slovak Paradise), where Marian had booked rooms at Ranč Podlesok.  We took our luggage inside, checked in, had a cup of tea (coffee for them), and then headed out for our first hike. 

Our journey for the day was the most famous of the hiking routes in Slovak Paradise, Suchá Belá, which is a gorge going up a mountain along, over, and through a stream.   (These mountains, while not as tall as the High Tatras, are very popular with tourists.)  

Here is a description of the Suchá Belá hiking route, which I copied from the internet:

Description of the route: Medium difficult, comparatively demanding tour in a form of circle. Wooden and iron ladders, chains, steps and footbridges secure exposed stretches in the gorge. They require an extra caution. The passage through the gorges is one-way, up the stream of the brook only! The rest of the route runs on comfortable forest roads and paths. 
The proposed route offers a fascinating passage through the gorge of Suchá Belá, part of the National Nature Reserve bearing the same name. The demanding passage through the mysterious scenery of cascades, waterfalls and abysses is secured by artificial climbing aids.

We soon learned that this description is quite accurate.  They should have also added that the whole trip is absolutely AWESOME!!!   

After a nice initial hike through the forest, and then along the creek bed, we came to the first of the series of ladders, bridges, and chains which assist hikers in negotiating the climb ……… and awaaaaay we go!!!  

At first these slatted wooden bridges were just  a few feet above the creek bed, and close enough to rock walls beside us to have something to lean on for balance, but later, many bridges were high above the rocky terrain below, straight over the middle like this one.  Yikes!!  Obviously, there were no hand rails either.  

Still smiling!!  Susan was really a trooper going through the gorge with us, as she was not quite so enthusiastic about the heights, rugged terrain and balancing issues on the hike!  

The scenery in the gorge was so beautiful, with rocky canyon walls, deep forests, and of course the wooden steps and bridges.  We made a couple of rest stops for snacks and water along the way, and we really enjoyed the journey.  Though there were a lot of other hikers on the trail, many times it seemed like we were almost alone in the forest.  

And then, we reached the first of many metal ladders taking us up huge canyon walls right next to waterfalls!!  Oh my goodness!!  I have to admit, this is indeed the 'fun' we were anticipating on this hike, but looking at the people ahead of us actually climbing the ladders, it was a just a little bit daunting!

About half-way up the first set of ladders, there was a ledge where I could stand securely to get the camera out.  But mostly, I don't have pictures of the scary spots, needless to say!  LOL!!!  

This first section of ladder was at an awkward angle, where you couldn't really just walk up it - too steep.  But you couldn't use your hands on the rungs either - too flat, so there were chains to hold onto along one side, which was helpful.  The chains are not nearly as secure as a handrail, since the chains moved, but everyone managed.  You can see that there were many hikers on the route!!  

After the flatter part of the ladder, there was a steeper section which could be climbed like a ladder, which I found to be easier.  This entire trail is a one-way-only route, for a couple of reasons.  One is obviously that people can only be going one way on any ladder at a time, and the other is that it is much safer (and easier) to climb UP than down!! 

The next section of ladders had some metal footbridges leading from one ladder to the next.  It was incredible climbing up next to the waterfalls through these narrow gorges! 

Looking back down through the gorge we had climbed up and through. 

This is the ONE metal bridge that had hand rails, and it felt great to be in such a secure spot, if only briefly!!  Especially since it was a LOOOONG way down from here!!  

Next was another long series of wooden slatted bridges, sometimes  just a little above the creek bed, and sometimes close enough to the rock walls to use them for balance.  

Most of the wooden slats were very secure, but every now and then there would be an empty spot with an obviously rotted out piece of board whose ends were still nailed down on either side.  The boards were spaced closely enough together that you could just step over and skip the missing ones, but in the back of my mind I kept wondering if there were any other semi-rotted boards that might give way when I stepped on them!!  

The bridges took us through another really narrow gorge in the rocks, and in some places we had to lean sideways to get through.  

There were some neat rock formations like this teardrop opening as we climbed upwards.  

More ladders up beside waterfalls - on and on - up and up!!  Notice Susan and Marian at the very top left of this picture.  The horizontal section at the top of this ladder was going around a rock on a narrow rock ledge to the right of Marian and Susan, so there were more chains to hold onto there.  

I actually stopped on the ladder to get the camera out for this picture of the trail and chains at the top of this waterfall.  The thing was, that with all the water splashing from the waterfalls, and having to hike through the creek sometimes, many of the rocks, ladders and wooden slat bridges were wet from everyone's shoes, so it was often a little slippery walking.  We were very careful!!  

We had to crawl through this rock opening along the trail before continuing to climb the next wooden ladder at the bottom of the picture.  The whole thing was like a real-life obstacle course climbing up ladders, under rocks like this, walking over the wooden slat bridges, going through the creek water over rocks and sometimes balancing on logs across the creek like a tightrope walker.  Crazy!  

This was a really beautiful part of the waterfall, where the water fell into different pools at levels below.  The metal platforms at right were bolted into the rocks to walk on here.  

Looking back down to some of the pools below the waterfall.  

This section of wooden foot bridges seemed a little older, but all the boards held up just fine.  We did have to pay a small entrance fee to Slovenský Raj, which is used for maintenance of the trails --- which is money well spent, in our opinion!!!   :-)

And finally, we arrived at the top of the mountain - Suchá Belá at last - YAY!!!   We stopped for a break and enjoyed sandwiches and water, as well as some homemade chocolate chip cookies.  The rest of the hike was the comfortable, easy part, down wide asphalt or dirt paths through the forest.  Easy Cheesy!!  

We were treated to a few panoramic views of the landscape below on the trail down the mountain.  Sometimes the clouds in the distance moved away enough to see the High Tatras beyond the lower hills. 

These purple bell-shaped flowers were plentiful along the return trails.  We saw many wildflowers all the way down.  

These are elder flowers, which were the basis for a jar of elder flower syrup that Ad'ka (my office partner) made for us - it's supposed to have many health benefits, and it is delicious in a cold glass of water!  

Finally, we made it back down to the bottom.  The signs for Slovenský Raj have a bear on them that matched the one on Tim's shirt!   :-)   But we still have never seen any real bears here in Slovakia!

This is where we stayed overnight, a short walk away from the foot of the Suchá Belá trail.  Our room was the window just behind the "LE" on the sign - the one with the window box of flowers.  

After showers and short naps, we met down in the restaurant for a very late lunch, then Marian and Tim played some pretty intense ping-pong on the terrace outside.  The Ranč Podlesok ("č" in Slovak is pronounced like our "ch" sound, so it sounds like 'ranch'!!)  is a really nice place, and it's very family-friendly, with many fun things for kids (and grown-up kids) to do.

This is the view from our window.  Just above the green line of hills at the left, you can just barely see the High Tatras in the distance, partly covered by the clouds.  On the grounds there was a merry-go round, some giant wooden pins for a sort of bowling using a log suspended by a chain, sand volleyball court, badminton area on grass, a small kids'  soccer field, and even a zip line.  How about we try a family reunion here in Slovenský Raj sometime??  This place would be great, and we can suggest some awesome hikes!!   ;-)

The next morning we had a delicious breakfast in the ranč restaurant and then headed out on a much tamer hike, but this one to a famous look-out spot with amazing views.  

I had read that Slovenský Raj has many beautiful butterflies, and we did see some pretty ones, but this is the only one that cooperated for a photo! 

The wildflowers and the views were so pretty all along the hiking trail.  

We took our time, stopping to enjoy the views frequently.  Surprisingly, our legs weren't very tired or sore after the previous day's more strenuous hiking.  

Marian taking it all in!  

We arrived at the top and were treated to more panoramas of the surrounding mountains from this rock ledge high above the valleys.  We called Susan a "Rock Star" because of how well she negotiated all the hiking on the rocks.   :-)  

When I was standing on this little outcropping from the main rock, some Slovaks started joking around and yelling at me in English, "Don't jump!!"  LOL!!  Down below near the center you can see a small cave entrance.  It is significant for the prehistoric findings there, but it's closed to the public.  I can't imagine how the 'public' could reach it anyway!  HAHAHA!!  

Wow - another mountaintop experience on this lookout point, up above the bigger flat rock ledge below.  It was beautiful, and luckily the weather cooperated the whole time we were hiking in Slovak Paradise, even though some rain showers had been in the forecast.  

Here's the information posted about the Tomášovský Viewpoint.  I guess serious rock climbers like to try this rock face, but that isn't something that even remotely interests us!  

I went back up the trail to get this shot of Tim, Marian, and Susan at the top of the rock.   (In my earlier photo, I was standing on that little outcropping to the left.  It was definitely dizzying to look out and down over that edge, believe me!!  

Another lookout point along the trail on the way back down from Tomášovský.  We thoroughly enjoyed every moment spent in Slovak Paradise with Marian and Susan!!  

(Note:  Marian took a lot of photos on his camera too, so we will exchange photos on our USB's, so that we can share all the photos from both cameras.  Needless to say, his photos have me in them more often, and my photos have Marian in them, so I'll post some additional photos from our Slovenský Raj hiking expeditions sometime later.)