The Low Tatras or Low Tatra (; ) is a

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have aris ...

of the

Inner Western Carpathians Divisions of the Carpathians are a categorization of the Carpathian mountains system. Below is a detailed overview of the major subdivisions and ranges of the Carpathian Mountains. The Carpathians are a "subsystem" of a bigger Alps-Himalaya S ...

in central

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

. It is located south of the Tatras proper, from which it is separated by the valleys of the

Váh The Váh (; , ; ; Wag
w Słowniku geograficznym Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich (''in Geograph ...

and

Poprad Poprad (; ; ) is a city in northern Slovakia at the foot of the High Tatras, High Tatra Mountains, famous for its picturesque historic centre and as a holiday resort. The largest town of the Spiš region and the largest of all towns in the vic ...

rivers (the Liptov-Spiš abasement). The valley formed by the

Hron The Hron (; ; ; ) is a long left tributary of the DanubeP ...

River is situated south of the Low Tatras range. The ridge runs west-eastwards and is about 80 km long. The

Čertovica Čertovica is a mountain pass in the Low Tatras mountain range in Slovakia. It connects regions of Liptov Liptov () is a historical and geographical region in central Slovakia with around 140,000 inhabitants. The area is also known by the ...

pass divides the range into two parts. The highest peaks of the Low Tatras are located in its western part.

Ďumbier Ďumbier (2,043 m or 6,703 ft) is the highest mountain in the Low Tatra range, in central Slovakia. Despite the remains of medieval mines (gold, iron, antimony), the massif is now protected as a part of the Low Tatras National Park. The eas ...

is the highest mountain at 2,042 m

AMSL Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level v ...

. Its neighbour

Chopok Chopok (2,024 m) is the third highest peak of the Low Tatra range (just after the neighboring Ďumbier and Štiavnica mountains) in central Slovakia. The peak offers a panoramatic view of High Tatra, Liptov and the valley of Hron. There is a ch ...

(2,024 m) is accessible by a

chairlift An elevated passenger ropeway, or chairlift, is a type of aerial lift, which consists of a continuously circulating steel wire rope loop strung between two end terminals and usually over intermediate towers. They are the primary on-hill tran ...

, and it is the most visited place in the Low Tatras. Other peaks in the western part include

Dereše Dereše (, 2,004 m) is the third highest peak of the Low Tatra range, in central Slovakia. It is located on the way between the highest mountains of the range, Ďumbier and Chopok in the east, and Chabenec in the west. Dereše is a popular desti ...

(2,004 m) and Chabenec (1,955 m). The highest peak in the eastern part is

Kráľova hoľa Kráľova hoľa (; ; , literally "King's Mountain") is the highest mountain (1,946 m) of the eastern part of the Low Tatras in central Slovakia. Four rivers rise at its foot: Čierny Váh, Hnilec, Hornád, and Hron. The summit, easily accessib ...

(1,946 m). The best viewpoints in western part are Veľká Chochuľa, Salatín, Chabenec, Skalka, Chopok, Ďumbier, Siná, Poludnica and Baba. Several

karst Karst () is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks such as limestone and Dolomite (rock), dolomite. It is characterized by features like poljes above and drainage systems with sinkholes and caves underground. Ther ...

areas are situated in

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

and dolomite

strata In geology and related fields, a stratum (: strata) is a layer of Rock (geology), rock or sediment characterized by certain Lithology, lithologic properties or attributes that distinguish it from adjacent layers from which it is separated by v ...

at the southern and northern edges of the main ridge, which is composed of

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

and

gneiss Gneiss (pronounced ) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. It is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks. This rock is formed under p ...

. Among many discovered caves,

Bystrianska Cave Bystrianska Cave is a limestone cave located on the southern slopes of the Nizke Tatry Mountains, along the road towards Banska Bystrica, at the southern edge of the town of Bystrá, in the Brezno District, Banskobystrický region, in Slovakia. ...

(''Bystrianska jaskyňa''),

Cave of Dead Bats Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance underground (such as rock sh ...

(''Jaskyňa mŕtvych netopierov''), Demänovská jaskyňa Slobody, Demänová Ice Cave (''Demänovská ľadová jaskyňa''), and

Važecká Cave Važecká Cave (, and ) is a long stalactite limestone cave. Lying at an elevation of , it is located near the village of Važec, in the Liptov Basin, near the Biely Váh River, on the northern edge of the Low Tatra mountain range in northern Slo ...

(''Važecká jaskyňa'') are open to the public. The biggest canyon is Hučiaky under Salatín in Ludrová valley near Ružomberok (7 caves - not open for public), suitable for canyoning. The highest waterfall is under Brankov near Ružomberok - Podsuchá (55 m high), reachable by green marked footpath from Podsuchá (20 min). The biggest tarn is ''Vrbické pleso'' in the ''Demänovská dolina'' Valley. The mountains are densely forested and their rich fauna includes

bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family (biology), family Ursidae (). They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats ...

wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a Canis, canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, includin ...

, and

lynx A lynx ( ; : lynx or lynxes) is any of the four wikt:extant, extant species (the Canada lynx, Iberian lynx, Eurasian lynx and the bobcat) within the medium-sized wild Felidae, cat genus ''Lynx''. The name originated in Middle Engl ...

. The alpine meadows are the habitat of

chamois The chamois (; ) (''Rupicapra rupicapra'') or Alpine chamois is a species of Caprinae, goat-antelope native to the mountains in Southern Europe, from the Pyrenees, the Alps, the Apennines, the Dinarides, the Tatra Mountains, Tatra to the Carpa ...

National Park

Most of the Low Tatras is protected by the

Low Tatras National Park Low Tatras National Park (; abbr. NAPANT) is a national park in Central Slovakia, between the Váh River and the Hron River valleys. The park and its buffer zone cover the whole Low Tatras mountain range. The National Park covers an area of ...

(''Národný park Nízke Tatry''; abbr. NAPANT), established in 1978. The area of the National Park is 728 km² (281.08 mi²) and the buffer zone takes 1,102 km² (425.48 mi²); 1,830 km² (706.56 mi²) together.

Tourism

Tourism is very popular in the Tatras. During the winter there are several ski resorts in Low Tatras, for example

Jasná Jasná is a small village situated in central Slovakia, in the Low Tatras mountains. It is a part of the municipality Demänovská Dolina. Skiing venue The Jasná area resorts have a total of more than 30 lifts on all sides of the Chopok Mou ...

Mýto pod Ďumbierom Mýto pod Ďumbierom () is a village and municipality in Brezno District, in the Banská Bystrica Region of central Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to th ...

, and Tále. Not only are these hubs of hiking and cross-country skiing trails, but Jasna is the largest ski resort in Central Europe and is served by the tourist town of Liptovsky Mikulas. Liptovsky Mikulas also offers a range of summer activities such as rafting, kayaking, boating on the lake, fishing, a hot springs aqua park and hiking. There are many places to stay, restaurants and bars in the town. The steep northern slopes of the range are popular with climbers. Other attractions include an 18-hole golf course near Tále. The ''Path of the heroes of Slovak national uprising'' follows the axis of the mountain range. At the very top there are several huts or hotels that can offer refuge to those who want to traverse the entire range from east to west. Low Tatras are also a popular destination for Czech tourists.An article about Low Tatras at cestovani.idnes.cz
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Panorama views

References

External links

Low Tatras National Park at Slovakia.TravelMap of eastern part of the Low Tatras
{{Authority control Mountain ranges of Slovakia Mountain ranges of the Western Carpathians

National Park

Tourism

Panorama views

See also

References

External links