Biele plesá (White Tarns)

Biele plesá (the White Tarns) are a group of nine small lakes in Dolina Bielych plies in the north-east of the High Tatras, in the Tatra National Park (TANAP). The valley is bounded by Kozí hrebeň to the west, Jahňací štít to the north, and Jahňací hrb with the Predné Kopské sedlo saddle to the east. Only the two largest lakes have their own names, Veľké Biele pleso and Trojrohé pleso; the rest are known collectively as the Malé Biele plesá.

Veľké Biele pleso lies at 1,612 m below the south-eastern slopes of Belianska kopa. It is a moraine lake: TANAP surveys in the 1960s gave it an area of about 0.97 ha, a length of 195 m, a width of 70 m and a depth of less than a metre. Two small streams flow into it and Biely potok flows out, joining Zelený potok to form the Kežmarská Biela voda. The tarn is a textbook example of a disappearing high-mountain lake: by 2018 it had shrunk to 177 by 65 m and 0.79 ha, with an average depth of only 0.44 m. Sedges are invading the shores, and the rate of overgrowth increased fivefold between 1949–1986 and 2009–2018. Researchers expect the open water may vanish before the end of this century, leaving a wet sedge meadow in its place.

Trojrohé pleso, named after its triangular shape, lies about 200 m to the south: 0.17 ha, 85 by 70 m, 1.2 m deep, at 1,620 m. It too is slowly filling with peat, and rare aquatic plants grow in it.

What to see and do

• The end of the Tatranská magistrála – the longest trail in the Tatras, the red Tatra Highway, ends here; there are benches for walkers by the tarn.
• Traces of old huts – in 1922, on General Votruba's initiative, the small Votrubova chata was built here for soldiers in case of a border conflict. In 1942 the two-storey Kežmarská chata was built nearby; it burned down in 1974, and its foundations are still visible.
• History – in 1851 the lake was painted by Maciej Bogusz Stęczyński, who also wrote a poem about it and linked the place with legends of an enchanted ruby. From 1897, for several years, a dwarf-pine oil factory operated by the tarn, destroying large numbers of Swiss stone pines and dwarf pines; stone pines were replanted after 1955.
• Views – Jahňací štít rises above the water to the east, the slopes of Belianska kopa to the north, and the climb towards Kopské sedlo reveals the whole valley with its tarns.

Getting there

The shortest way is from Chata pri Zelenom plese along the red Tatranská magistrála (Tatra Highway): Podbanské – Veľké Biele pleso: 35 min each way. To reach the hut itself, a yellow trail leads from the Cesta Slobody road between Kežmarské Žľaby and Matliare – 3 h 15 min up – or the magistrála from Skalnaté pleso – 2 h 05 min. The blue route Tatranské Matliare – Tatranská Javorina reaches the tarn from Matliare in 3 h 30 min (2 h 45 min down), and the green Tatranská Kotlina, Čárda – Veľké Biele Tarn through the Valley of Seven Springs in 3 h 10 min (2 h 20 min down). From the tarn to Kopské sedlo is another 45 min. This is a full-day mountain hike, although the section from Zelené pleso itself is easy.

Season and safety

The magistrála from Zelené pleso to Veľké Biele pleso is not on the list of seasonal closures, but the trails from the tarn to Kopské sedlo are closed from 1 November to 31 May (§ 4 and Annex 3 of the TANAP Visitor Rules, Decree 26/2023). Dogs are not allowed on the magistrála, on the blue trail from Matliare or on the green trail through the Valley of Seven Springs (Annex 5). Entry to TANAP is free; walking is permitted only on marked trails and only in daylight, and the TANAP administration asks visitors not to fly drones. In winter the valley is prone to avalanches. Mountain Rescue Service HZS: 18 300, general emergency number: 112.

Nearby

• Zelené pleso (Kežmarské) – 35 min along the magistrála.
• Jahňací štít – the summit above the valley.
• Skalnaté pleso, Observatory and Lomnický štít Cable Car – where this stretch of the magistrála begins.
• Belianska Cave and Ždiar — Goral village below the Belianske Tatras – on the far side of Kopské sedlo.

Official website: tanap.sk

Photos: Michal Klajban, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons; Jerzy Opioła, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons; Krzysztof Dudzik-Górnicki (User:ToSter), CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons.