Obrovský vodopád (Giant Waterfall)

Obrovský vodopád (Polish Wodospad Olbrzymi, German Riesenwasserfall – the "Giant Waterfall") is one of the most powerful and photogenic waterfalls of the Slovak High Tatras. It is formed by the Malý Studený potok stream, which plunges through a narrow, dark cleft in a granodiorite rock step at the mouth of the Malá Studená dolina valley. The drop is about 20 m (according to the Slovak, Polish and German Wikipedias; the Czech one gives roughly 15 m). The foot of the fall lies at about 1,330 m above sea level, still in the forest, near the Staroleśna glade where the Small and Great Studený streams join to form the Studený potok.

The name means "giant" and has equivalents in all local languages; Poles once also called it the Obrowski or Great Waterfall. The rock step it pours over is the lowest tier of the terraced Malá Studená dolina; Slovaks call it Schodíky ("Little Steps"). It is about 130 m high, rising from 1,330 to 1,460 m. Above it, on a grassy clearing, stands Zamkovského chata, and higher still the valley leads to the Five Spiš Tarns and Téryho chata. The waterfall lies in the Studené doliny national nature reserve within TANAP.

What to see and do

• The view from the footbridge. The red Tatranská magistrála crosses the stream on a wooden footbridge right below the fall – the best place to see the water striking the walls of the gorge. After rain and during snowmelt the stream is especially loud.
• A walk between two huts. The fall lies halfway between Rainerova chata (1,301 m) – the oldest surviving tourist hut in the Tatras (1865), with a small museum of Tatra porters – and Zamkovského chata, built in 1942–1943 by the climber Štefan Zamkovský.
• Combine it with other falls. Lower down, near Bilíkova chata, are the Studený potok Waterfalls and Hrebienok, so both are easy to see in one day.
• Photos: the fall is narrow and tall, so portrait format works best; on overcast days there are fewer harsh shadows in the gorge.

How to get there

The classic approach starts at Hrebienok (1,272 m), reached from Starý Smokovec by the funicular (the only funicular railway in Slovakia) or on foot (about 1 hour by the signposts). From Hrebienok to Rainerova chata it is about 30–35 min, from Rainerova chata to Zamkovského chata 30 min along the red magistrála – the waterfall lies on exactly this section. Alternatively, take the cable car from Tatranská Lomnica to Skalnaté pleso, Observatory and Lomnický štít Cable Car and walk down the red magistrála past Zamkovského chata (about 45 min to the hut). A yellow trail leads from Tatranská Lesná to Rainerova chata (about 1 h 55 min), a blue one from Tatranská Lomnica (about 2 h). The routes Stary Smokowiec – Tatrzańska Jaworina and Tatranská magistrála (Tatra Highway): Podbanské – Veľké Biele pleso pass right by the fall.

It is an ordinary mountain path with stones and roots but no difficult sections: fine for school-age children, not for pushchairs. Important: as of 2026 the TANAP administration reports restrictions on the trails around Hrebienok and the Studené doliny (a landslide on the red magistrála between Hrebienok and Rainerova chata with a detour via Bilíkova chata; the green trail from Bilíkova chata to the Studený potok waterfalls closed until further notice). Check the current notices on tanap.sk before you set out.

Season and safety

According to the Czech Wikipedia, the magistrála from Hrebienok to Zamkovského chata is passable all year, so the fall can be seen in winter too (beware of the icy footbridge and path). TANAP's seasonal closure of high-mountain trails runs from 1 November to 31 May (in 2026 the trails reopened on Monday 1 June – tanap.sk notice of 27 May 2026); it applies, among others, to the continuation up the valley to Téryho chata. In the national park keep to marked trails; restrictions apply to dogs. Entry to TANAP is free. Mountain Rescue Service (HZS): 18 300; general emergency number: 112.

Nearby

Downstream are the Studený potok Waterfalls and Hrebienok; up the Malá Studená dolina are the Five Spiš Tarns and Modré pleso. Above the valley rise Lomnický štít and Slavkovský štít, and the cable car runs to Skalnaté pleso, Observatory and Lomnický štít Cable Car.

Official website: tanap.sk

Photos: Andrzej Otrębski, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons; Branork, CC BY-SA 2.5, Wikimedia Commons; Jarorox, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons; Tomáš Kryl, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons; Falk2, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.