High Tatras Winter Adventure

Welcome to Smokovec, Slovakia’s ski resort located in the shadow of beautiful snowy mountains. This will be your base for the next seven nights. You will be met by your tour leader at the hotel for an introductory briefing. Depending on your arrival time, the rest of the day is free to explore.

This morning you’ll take a ride on the famous Tatra tram to Strbske Pleso – Slovakia´s highest village. During this sightseeing tour we will pass through several Tatra spa villages. The guide will tell you a lot about each of them while driving.

After an introductory tour of Štrbské Pleso, we will head to Mlynická dolina. Our goal is the Skok waterfall. Hiking to this waterfall, which is frozen in the winter months, is a good choice for an introductory winter walk and the route can be managed even by less able tourists. Our guide will take you safely up to this 30m. high waterfall. For easier movement in the snow, we use crampons.

We’ll keep an eye out for the Tatra chamois in the wilderness and have a picnic directly under the waterfall. Then, following the same route, we will return to Strbske Pleso and take the tram back to our hotel.

Total walking: 10,5km, ascent/descent 430m, time 4.5h.

After breakfast, transfer to Velka Fatra National Park, famous for its dramatic ridges, hillside meadows, distinctive rock formations and caves. High snow-covered meadows offer great conditions for dog-sledding. Professional mushers will teach you the basic principles of handling the dog sled, and then you can have a go yourself. Later today, visit indoor and outdoor thermal pools for a spot of relaxation. You can also enjoy saunas, Jacuzzis and a wellness centre (optional).

This morning we take a private bus to the nearby village of Zdiar. After a quick lesson on how to use snowshoes, we head off, following the modest ridge of Spisska Magura. This relatively easy terrain is the perfect setting to sample snowshoeing, following routes that were used by local smugglers to bring goods from Poland to Slovakia. The views of the Belianske Tatras’ white peaks are simply stunning.

This morning, take a cable car ride to Hrebienok (1,285m). Here we can admire stunning ice sculptures created by artists from all over the world, before enjoying an easy 20-minute walk to Rainerova chata, the oldest mountain hut in the Tatras.

Zdiar is a typical Goral village, full of traditional wooden houses and barns. You’ll learn about the local way-of-life, before a horse and sleigh ride in the forest and unforgettable Slovak-style barbecue on an open fire.

The day ends as any kid (or grown-up kid!) would want it to – zooming down snowy slopes on a sledge!!

After breakfast head to one of the longest slopes in Tatranska Lomnica to enjoy downhill skiing. Ski from an altitude of 2,196m, down a 6km-long slope to Tatranska Lomnica.

The resort offers slopes for beginners and black runs for experienced skiers. We can organise a ski lesson if you wish – just let us know.

Today has been left free for you to spend more time doing your favourite activity, or explore some of Slovakia’s varied cultural attractions.

You could return to the slopes to work on your skiing or snowboarding technique, try snow-tubing, ice skating or snowmobiling. Take a cable car ride to Lomnický štít (2634m), visit Belianksa cave, or hire crampons and hike to a remote mountain hut. Or why not to try cross country skiing in Strbske Pleso. Your guide will be there to assist with anything you might need.

Your adventure comes to an end today.