It was a mile and a half walk from the campsite to the cable car in Tatranska Lomnica where we found a long queue. There are two options to reach Skalnate Peso at 1,751m, the four-person gondola that we were queuing for and a 30-person cable car. We had seen a helicopter ferrying construction material to a site on the mountain near the cable car route and suspected that they were doing some repair work and this seemed to be the case as we couldn't see any cable cars running.
The queue moved quite quickly and we were soon on our way up some 900m. Cloud covered the tops of the mountains leaving Skalnate Pleso in shade and this, combined with the increase in altitude, meant that the temperature was much lower here. We watched the cable car operating on its dramatic last section up to the very peak of Lomnicky Stit, at 2634m the third highest mountain in the Tatras. Tickets for this section had already sold out when we bought our tickets but the fact that the peak was immersed in cloud would have meant that the fantastic views over the Tatras would have been obscured.
We set off down the very popular path to Hrebienok and within a few minutes passed Skalnata Chata, the oldest of many refuges in the Tatras. Here there was a small room that showed the work of the refuge sherpas who carry huge loads to the refuges high in the mountains miles from civilization. The strength and endurance of these men is quite phenomenal, using wooden frames on their backs they carry loads of 150 to 200kg including massive gas cylinders as well as food and other supplies.
The path was very rocky meaning that much time was spent watching our feet but frequent stops allowed us to admire the views both up into the mountains and over the flat lands south to the Low Tatras. The latter were rather hazy but, between clouds, sun lit up the valleys and peaks of the High Tatras. We stopped by another refuge, Zamkovskeho Chata, for our picnic before descending rapidly to the flatter approach to Hrebienok. Here there is a funicular down to Stary Smokovec and it is also possible to rent a scooter for the descent. These looked great fun but I couldn't persuade Jane, so we walked down watching the scooters go by. The bold riders zoomed passed at great speed whilst the timid passed more sedately with the brakes squealing.
All along the southern edge of the High Tatras there is an excellent electric railway running a service every hour. We had some time to kill and so we had a drink sat in comfortable cane chairs in the shade outside one of the two bars at the station. The train journey is slow due to the many bends, road crossings and the steep incline of parts of the line. We back at the Stara Lesna station and then walked the 700m to the campsite, completing our 13km (8 mile) walk.
Photos: Skalnate Pleso - the cable car descending from the clouds covering Lomnicky Stit nearly 880 metres above; The backpacks used by the refuge sherpas – imagine this loaded with 200kg of gas cylinders; A view up the Velka Studena Dolina (valley) into the heart of the High Tatras.
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