Slovakia: Day 6 - Day hike to Skalnate pleso (1751m)

Here is a summary of what is spent on Day 6.

3/8 Day 6: Day hike to Skalnate pleso (1751m). Rained on the hike back to our accommodation. Pleso in Slovakian = mountain lake usually formed by glaciers. Left at 8.40am and came back at 4.30pm. 

Food
(1) Drink at Skalnate chata - Kofola 500ml EUR3,50
(2) Food at Skalnate pleso - Espresso lungo EUR3,80, a slice of cherry and chocolate cake EUR5,20

(3) Lunch at Skalnate Chata - ghoulash soup with bread EUR6,60

The Story

03082026: Today, we will hike to Skalnate pleso. Planned by my travel companions. I am not good for planning hikes in the mountains as I am unable to translate terrains from the map. 

First, breakfast - option to choose between omelette and sausages (I took omelette), sweet bread, yoghurt, tuna fish salad, and tea. I love the tea! I asked the staff if I could have coffee. She said that their tea is delicious. Besides, one has to pay for coffee as coffee is not part of the breakfast offer. The omelette was salty. Maybe the cook oversalted it. 

We started our hike around 8.40am.

According to the sign, it takes 1 hour 10 minutes to get to Skalnate pleso. Ok, not my timing. I took 1 hour 40 minutes. I cannot trust the signs anymore.

Along the hike, I heard helicopters flying above. We saw that they carried packages in a net hanging from the helicopter and then a short while later, when the helicopter came back, the net is empty. It is Monday and I think deliveries happen on Mondays. I made that conclusion because I did not hear helicopters the next day or the day after. Can you see the package that I marked in the photo?

According to the sign, it is Slavkovsky Stit (2452m) behind me. The fourth highest peak on Tatra mountains. Also, based on the sign, we are standing on Lomnická vyhliadka which is 1530m. I have hiked up 55meters. It was not so bad as it was a gradual uphill and we just started the hike and I still had energy. 

Trail seems bearable in the beginning, and then the uphill climb started where all I see is just rocks and stones. There is no trail that is stone, rock or boulder-free. Knees were so tired. Sometimes, I had to take a large climb to reach the next rock. Or squat when I need to get down to the next rock. Yeah, I am short. Sometimes, my boyfriend pulls me up or stand below me so that I use his shoulder as support to get down. 

Views on my side along the trail. I see green spots on mountains far ahead and I understand now that they are short pine trees. 

Finally, I see a glimpse of a mountain cottage ahead of me.

Skalnate pleso in the distance! 10 minutes later, we reached a small mountain hut before Skalnate pleso.

Skalnata chata! 1.5 hour later from when I started. 

At Skalnata chata, we stopped to take a break. I had my kofola. It is cheaper here EUR3,80 compared to the mountain hut (Zamko chata) we were staying (costs EUR5). We could understand why it is cheaper here as there is a cable car line to Skalnate pleso. So, it is easier to transport raw materials and drinks via the cable car.

The 2D figure of the elderly man in the photo was the owner of this mountain hut, Skalnata chata and used to be a porter. He carried packages between Skalnata chata and Zamko chata when he was alive. Today, his son takes over the mountain hut. There is a description of him where he carried the heaviest record of load of 210kg from Skalnata chata to the start of the cable car. 

Skalnata chata is a small mountain hut. We said goodbye for now and continued our way to Skalnate pleso. It took me 7 minutes. I thought it was going to take a long time. I was surprised. 

One can take the cable car to Skalnate pleso. This place is a ski area. Hence, the cable cars. Here, I see many families with children in the restaurant. One way ticket costs EUR27 and a return is EUR33. Very expensive! 

Finally, at Skalnate pleso! 11.23am. Still early for lunch so we decided to have coffee and cake instead. 

Amazing Tatra mountain range. There are clouds looming over and it is going to rain soon.

Self-service at the cafe here. I took espresso lungo from the coffee machine and we chose a slice of cherry and chocolate cake from the display. The restaurant is on another floor and I passed by it when I went to the toilet. It was quite empty in the restaurant. Well, almost everyone was sitting outside. 

My boyfriend and I shared the cake because it is expensive. Also, I don't want to have too much sugar.

We rested for a while and decided to hike further up before it rains. We will turn back when the dark clouds get closer. Or in our case, when it started to hail and not rain. As in lumps of ice. Painful when it hits the face and hands. 

Another cable car that goes further up to Lomnicky Peak (2634m). I just checked Vysoke Tatry site and the cable car ticket from Skalnate pleso to Lomnicky Peak is EUR59! WOW! The cable car operations stopped when it rained. Tough for those stuck at the peak and had to wait for the rain to stop so the cable car can run again.

We hiked towards the Observatory hoping to go in and see the view. I read the reviews that the view is beautiful. Unfortunately, the gates were closed. Regardless, the view is still beautiful when I turned around 360 degrees.

There is a small lake but no one is allowed to take a dip. We did not see anyone dipping their feet inside either. Could this be the reason that the ski place is called Skalnate pleso? Pleso = mountain lake in Slovakian.

Tatra mountains and I.

From the Observatory, this is the view of Skalnate pleso and the mountains behind it. I took a panaromic view.

We hiked further up after the Observatory, hoping to maybe go to the next mountain hut. We met several hikers on the way down who commented that the view is worth the hike. We received advice to turn back too because the dark clouds are approaching. Well, we stopped midway and lied on the grass instead. 

Dark clouds are here, and it started to rain and then hail.

I have my poncho with me. A bit difficult to hike with a poncho as I could not see the ground underneath my feet so I have to hold on to my poncho to not flap around.

We went back to Skalnate pleso and the entire place was crowded. Restaurant and cafe were full. No available seats. Some sat on the floor too. So, we decided to hike down to Skalnata chata and try our luck to see if there are places. I saw the cable cars were stopped in the tracks and I thought of those on Lomnicky Peak. Ugh, it was cold. It was raining heavily. We went inside Skalnate chata and yay, there were available seats! So, we had lunch here. My ghoulash soup with bread. 

The rain subsided and we continued our hike at 3.10pm. Then, it rained heavily again and subsided. My shoes were soaked wet. Pants too, stuck to my legs. I saw a father carrying his daughter on his back and they were singing under the rain. Positive attitude is important to keep going during a bad weather. After the rain, there comes the rainbow. Finally, the rain stopped at 3.55pm. 

We reached back at Zamko chata at 4.30pm. Gladly took off my hiking boots and I asked the staff if she has old newspapers so that I can stuff them in my shoes to dry them. She looked at me and said - We have a drying room. Follow me and let me know if it works. I was confused on what a drying room is. I followed her to the basement and a drying room for shoes and boots. I was so happy! I cannot believe that they have such great facility! I have never seen anything like this before. They have really thought well and thorough! Then the staff told me - We don't use papers anymore. I laughed! She is right. Who has a newspaper nowadays? And how would the newspapers end up in their mountain hut.

For dinner, I had garlic soup EUR7,50. I told them that I do not want the bread because it is too much. Then, a staff said that there is croutons with garlic soup. I wanted that and she told me that that is bread. I tried to explain that I don't want the other bread but I want croutons. In the end, we got the bread slices (I forgot to mention, bread slices to differentiate the bread) but we returned back the bread that we could not finish. The bread came in a bread basket. 

There are chunks of garlic in the garlic soup.

For today's dinner, I had pork schnitzel with salad EUR17. This dish is supposed to come with french fries but I told the staff that I did not want french fries. The salad is enough for me and I got a larger portion of salad. My travel companions were envious of my dinner and wanted similar for their dinner tomorrow. I saw other hikers who ordered pork schnitzel and some could not finish their french fries. It is always no harm asking if the dish can omit one of its cooked ingredients. Easier to omit than to add. I did not order any drinks as I could drink plain water. It is okay to drink tap water in Slovakia. Especially in the mountains where the water comes from the glacier!

So, EUR24,50 in total. Morning's breakfast looks like it is worth more than EUR3,50 with omelette, yoghurt, bread, tuna salad, and a big cup of tea. It is EUR28 for half board (breakfast and dinner).