Let's say that it's a bit big for the first hike of the season, but then again, we don't walk the eastern ridge of Demänovská Dolina every day, so we thought why not. You might ask yourself, what can be so great about a hike in the Low Tatras, when we have crowded and stony hills. But the opposite is true, the diversity of the terrain, the exuberance and the green of the alpine meadows will immediately win you over. And one of the biggest bonuses, you will meet a minimum of people, after all they are all in high….
Although the route goes down more than it goes up, that convinced us that this 20-kilometer walk would be a breeze. Well, it would be, if we didn't spend a month in flip-flops before that, and the descents really took a toll on our legs. First advice for the introduction, the hike is not technically demanding and if you are not well-traveled, I would choose a light trekking comfortable sneaker rather than heavy luggage, which I am not quite used to. In short, footwear that you know fits you and is comfortable for such long distances.
We start in the morning with the cable car to Chopok, deliberately to save time and also because from our point of view, the direct ascent to Chopok itself is quite a waste of time and boring. On hectic days, I recommend downloading the Gopass app /www.gopass.sk/, where you can buy tickets, I would definitely not save it for Saturday morning and the ticket window. It's nice to create this account once and you just recharge. One more tip, if it happens to be starting from the white path and at the boarding station of the ladybug /slow, small cabin/ it will be happy to wait for an hour, so opposite the ladybug, you can see a giant old wooden building, a garage of ratrakists. After it, there is a traverse that will comfortably take you to the bend in about 20-25 minutes, from where the funicular to Chopok starts...
Clothing, never underestimate the Chopok and its crest. Even on the most beautiful day, take a jacket and a puffer jacket in your backpack. This advice is completely free from us and it is priceless
When you get off the cable car and the first 100-kilometer gust of wind blows you, you know that there is not much time for contemplation and you head south-east towards the stone hut /100m from the cable car/. Well, there is always time for a small pine cone, and even two. Do not get a large one, rather two small ones. And we descend below the cottage along the SNP heroes path to Demänovské sedlo. Gradually, the Ďumbiera massif will be revealed to us, in this section keep your eyes open and look into the adjacent ravines, where you may come across grazing chamois. At the foot of the Ďumbiera massif, we can already see the signpost for Demänovské Sedlo from a distance, here we are attracted by a path on the left side that winds beautifully through a wide valley. You can go back to Jasná through this valley, it is a beautiful valley, or if you have smaller children, it is worth turning here and doing this circuit.
However, we continue from the saddle to the left along the yellow road and we will reach Prašiva. A great place to take a break and take the first hundred photos. From Prašiva, a beautiful path awaits us, with even more beautiful views, which gradually passes into the zone of rhododendron. With this overgrown but beautiful traverse below Tanečnica, we reach the forest area, where we descend to the Javorie saddle. Another place to take a break and possibly return back to Jasná in case of problems. This descent has already tested the neglected menisci in the knees a bit, but we are optimistic. We climb the Kraków stick. If you have a combination of neglected menisci and poor condition, Kraków holi will be the right place for a cardboard box with a cup of tea. One tip, in addition to the views, look below your feet. There is a high concentration of bear pelts, not that there are that many of them here, but they walk on the sidewalk, in short, there are no tubs, just rhombus everywhere. Don't be afraid like us and above all talk. Otherwise, on this section, if you are a herbalist, this trail is literally strewn with herbs such as Alchemyla, Valeriana, or Boľhoj.
Once you sit down on the Krakow cane, you'll never want to get up. But you have to. Once again a change, completely different views, but also steeply down. The legs stop obeying and we start praying that the bruises don't have to be so terrible. This is where the good old adage, you wear flip-flops for a month, then you ask for forgiveness in the mountains, can really come into play. After descending, we reach the Pusté locality. Here we could still turn towards Demänovská Hora, which was also our goal. But you know what, in every party there is a weak link, so we let it go over the rock cliffs in the Pusté location and headed for the Demänovská cave of freedom. I would like to write that this descent is for a reward, but it is not ????. Serpentine alternates serpentine, steepness to steepness. Again, it is not a technically demanding descent, but in short, you want to sit in the Jakub guesthouse near the cave, drink beer and air your socks.
This hike is not really a physically demanding climb, but walking 20 km in the mountains can take a lot of work, I definitely do not recommend this hike without average physical condition. You can count 8 hours, it's such a photographic pace. There is no hut with beer and sausages along the way, definitely takeaway bread, also two and at least a liter of water. It is nice to have an overview of the departure of the bus from in front of the Fim hotel, you can find it on the SAD Liorbus website. Travel schedule – BUS
Technical difficulty *
Physical difficulty ***
Time required ****
