Blue treasures
On the Slovak side of the High Tatras, there are more than 100 tarns – lakes of glacier origin. Our forefathers believed that their bottoms are linked with the sea. But today we know that the main European watershed runs through the territory of the High Tatras and a part of all waters is drained by brooks and rivers to the Baltic Sea and another part to the Black Sea, where most Slovak rivers empty.
The Region of the High Tatras is a particularly significant region from the hydrologic point of view. There are several mineral springs, but the tarns (mountain lakes) and waterfalls in the Tatras are most attractive to tourists.
Štrbské pleso, Popradské pleso and Skalnaté pleso are the most visited ones and Skalnaté pleso is accessible with a comfortable cable car from Tatranská Lomnica.
Veľké Hincovo pleso is the largest tarn as for the size (20 ha) and the deepest one (53 m) in Slovakia (Morskie Oko on the Polish side of the Tatras is 35 ha big and the largest one in the whole mountain range). The largest Slovak tarn is about a 1.5-hour walk from Popradské pleso (tarn), but you can take a look at it also from high above – when hiking along a marked hiking trail to Mt Kôprovský štít.
The highest number of tarns can be found in Veľká Studená dolina (valley) near Zbojnícka chalet. Tourist trails don’t run to most of them, but you can admire them from a distance. The same applies to Vareškové pleso and Dlhé pleso, which can be seen when walking to the chalet.
Lower-located tarns are rich in fish and plants, higher-located ones are inhabited by glacial relics mostly, i.e. species that managed to survive since ice ages. Many lakes have different colours depending on the vegetation, the substances dissolved in their water and their depth, and this is what they are named after (Zelené pleso – Green tarn, Biele pleso – White tarn, Čierne pleso – Black tarn, Modré pleso – Blue tarn…).
The calming view of the constantly flowing amount of water and the roar of the waterfalls are what attracts people to come closer to Studený potok (brook). The waterfalls are formed of several cascades and Obrovský vodopád (waterfall) at the end of Malá Studená dolina (valley). Kmeťov vodopád (waterfall, 80 metres high) in Kôprová dolina (valley) was considered the longest waterfall for long, but based on recent measurements, it consists of three smaller waterfalls and so Ťažký vodopád (waterfall) in Bielovodská dolina (valley) has become number one.
Water plays an essential role in life as such and the tarns and waterfalls in the Tatras are irreplaceable too. They are homes of water plants and animals, they provide them with moisture, regulate the outflow of water in nature, prevent floods, are precious and unique, and the views of them are unforgettable. That’s why we cannot pollute them, swim in them and should get closer only in places where tourist trails run to them.
Fotografie: Silvio Pašmík
