Popradské pleso and the Symbolic Cemetery

Popradské pleso is a glacial lake in the Mengusovská valley at 1,494 m, below the cliffs of Ostrva. It covers 6.88 ha and is 17 m deep — the fourth-largest tarn of the Slovak Tatras. The water has a yellow-green tint; the lake freezes around 11 November and thaws around 21 May. A mountain hut (Chata pri Popradskom plese) stands on the shore, so you can rest and eat here. The tarn is one of the most popular goals for people who want to see a high-mountain lake without a difficult hike: an asphalt road leads here.

Although the lake lies on the land of the village of Mengusovce, it bears the name of the distant town of Poprad — probably because the Poprad river rises below Ostrva. As early as 1736 the scholar Matej Bel mentioned it as the "Fish Eye", the only tarn on the southern side of the High Tatras with fish.

The Symbolic Cemetery

Half an hour from the lake, in a pine grove below Ostrva, lies the Symbolic Cemetery of Tatra victims (Symbolický cintorín). The idea came from the Czech mountaineer and painter Otakar Štáfl in 1922; the site was chosen in 1934, a stone chapel designed by Róbert Vosyka was built in 1936, and the cemetery opened on 11 August 1940. The inscription reads: "In memory of the dead, as a warning to the living". Nobody is buried here — about 300 memorial plaques to more than 400 people of many nationalities who died in the Tatras and other mountains hang on the rocks, among them the Polish climbers Wanda Rutkiewicz and Jerzy Kukuczka. Between the plaques stand carved, painted wooden crosses made by craftsmen from Detva. Since 1969 the cemetery has been looked after by the TANAP administration; in 1970 it was listed as a monument.

What to do

• Walk along the shore and sit by the hut with views of the Mengusovská valley peaks.
• Take the loop via the Symbolic Cemetery on the yellow trail.
• Experienced hikers can continue on the blue trail to Veľké Hincovo pleso or up Rysy (summer season only).

Practical information

Getting there. The easiest way is the Tatra Electric Railway from Poprad or Štrbské Pleso to the Popradské Pleso stop. From there an asphalt road climbs to the junction by the Symbolic Cemetery (about 50 minutes), then it is 10 minutes on the blue trail to the lake, or about 30 minutes on the yellow trail via the cemetery. The road is open on foot, on skis and by bike all year; cars may use it only for hut guests and with a special permit. From Štrbské Pleso you can walk along the Tatranská magistrála (red) — about 30 minutes to the Trigan junction, then 35 minutes more on the summer path or 45 minutes on the green "winter" path. The asphalt route suits families and even pushchairs, but it climbs the whole way.

TANAP rules. The red magistrála from the Trigan junction to Popradské pleso, the blue trail via Hincovo pleso and the route up Rysy are closed from 1 November to 31 May. The yellow trail to the Symbolic Cemetery is closed from 15 December to 30 April and open the rest of the year. Hiking is allowed only in daylight. In winter there is avalanche danger around the lake — on 20 January 1974 an avalanche near the lake buried a group of students on a ski course, killing their teacher and many of the students.

When to go. May to October; the asphalt road is accessible in winter too. The park rules set no entry ticket.

Nearby

• Štrbské pleso — about an hour along the Tatranská magistrála.
• Veľké Hincovo pleso — 1.5 hours up the blue trail (in season).
• Batizovské pleso — along the magistrála over the saddle below Ostrva (in season).
• Skok waterfall above Štrbské Pleso.

Official website: tanap.sk

Photos: Marek Levák designmesk, CC0, Wikimedia Commons; Zalasem1, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons; Michal Klajban, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons; Elenyyy, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons; Happa, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons.