Hole of the Low Tatras between Chopok and Chabenec

The highest section of the grassy main ridge of the Low Tatras (Nízke Tatry) runs west from Chopok (2,024 m), reached by cable cars from the Jasná resort, over Dereše (2,004 m), Poľana (1,890 m), Krížske sedlo and Kotliská (1,937 m) to Chabenec (1,955 m). Slovak reference works describe it as a "meadowy-rocky" crest: on top mountain grassland and fields of granite boulders, to the north the steep walls of glacial cirques, to the south gentler grassy slopes. This whole part of the Ďumbier Tatras belongs to the Low Tatras National Park, and the southern slopes of Poľana, Kotliská and Chabenec also lie in the Skalka National Nature Reserve.

The ridge is built of the granites of the crystalline core of the Low Tatras. During the last glaciation classic cirques formed here: below Chabenec in the Krížska valley lies a small tarn, and a small firn glacier filled the cirque of the Lomnistá valley. The summit and the southern, eastern and western slopes of Chabenec are covered by natural grassy vegetation of the alpine belt, while its steep northern slopes hold a population of chamois acclimatised in the Low Tatras. According to Slovak encyclopaedic sources, the ridge pastures of the Low Tatras mostly arose during the Wallachian colonisation, when shepherds cleared the forest ever higher; these hole were never mown or fertilised. The mountains also hold tragic memories: after the defeat of the Slovak National Uprising in November 1944 the remnants of the insurgent army retreated over Chabenec, and in bad weather several dozen soldiers and civilians died in the deep snow on its slopes, among them the politician and journalist Jan Šverma.

What to see and do

• The ridge walk on the red Cesta hrdinov SNP from Chopok to Chabenec is one of the most beautiful high-mountain sections in Slovakia: the path stays above the tree line the whole way.
• Panorama. In good visibility Kotliská and Dereše show most peaks of the Low Tatras, the High and Western Tatras, the Chočské vrchy, Oravská Magura and the Beskids, Malá and Veľká Fatra, the Štiavnica Mountains, Javorie and the Stolica and Vepor Mountains.
• Kamenná chata pod Chopkom (about 2,000 m) is the third-highest mountain hut in Slovakia. It was once a stone lodging house for the workers who built the cable car; it became a hut in 1996.
• Wildlife. Chamois can be seen on the northern crags of Dereše and Chabenec, and from the crest you look down into deep cirques with tarns.

How to get there

The easiest way up is by the cable cars of the Jasná resort to Chopok, from the north (Demänovská dolina) or from the south; as of October 2026, according to the operator, in autumn they run on Saturdays and Sundays from 8:30, with the last car down at 15:00. From Chopok along the ridge to Chabenec it is about 2 h 25 min (signpost times per pl.wikipedia) on the Horná Poruba, U Brdárov – Pred Čuntavou trail; this is a serious mountain hike at around 2,000 m, not for prams. On foot from the Demänovská valley: from the car park at the Demänovská Cave of Liberty via Biela Púť, Vrbické pleso and Tri vody to the Poľana saddle takes about 4 h, or via Bôr to the summit of Poľana 3 h 40 min. From the south the Krížske Saddle – Hut of Gen. M. R. Štefánik trail leads to Krížske sedlo (from the Štefánik hut via Kosodrevina about 2 h 50 min); the yellow Črmné – Kotliská trail takes 4 h 30 min, but its upper part (Žiar – Kotliská) is closed every year from 1 October to 30 June.

Season and safety

The best time is July–September. There is almost no shelter on the crest apart from Kamenná chata near Chopok: thunderstorms, fog and wind are dangerous here, and the northern slopes of Dereše are avalanche-prone even for skiers. Low Tatras NP rules (NAPANT, as of October 2026): walk only on marked trails and only in daytime – from one hour after sunrise to one hour before sunset; dogs only on a lead and muzzled; from 1 October to 30 June three park trails are closed, including the Žiar – Kotliská section; in the snow-free period the winter path from the Štefánik hut to Ďumbier is also closed. During a ridge traverse you may spend the night only at designated places – the nearest is next to the Ďurková shelter. Mountain Rescue Service – 18 300.

Nearby

West of Chabenec stretch the hole of the western Low Tatras from Prašivá to Ďurková. Below the ridge lie the Vajskovský vodopád (Vajskovský Waterfall), Vrbické pleso in the Demänovská valley and the Demänovská Cave of Liberty.

Official website: napant.sk

Photos: I would appreciate being notified if you use my work outside Wikimedia. More..., CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons; Jerzy Opioła, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons; Michal Klajban, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons.