Skalka

Skalka (Polish Skałka) is a 1980 m summit in the Low Tatras in Slovakia. It is the fifth-highest peak of the range and the second highest of those lying off the main ridge (after Štiavnica). Skalka stands on a side ridge above the village of Dolná Lehota, about 16 km north-west of Brezno, in Brezno District, Banská Bystrica Region; the summit is shared by Dolná Lehota and Jasenie. The nearest settlements as the crow flies are Krpáčovo and the Jasná resort (6 km each), Magurka and Demänovská Dolina (about 7 km).

The mountain belongs to the Ďumbier Tatras. It lies on a spur that leaves the main ridge southwards at Kotliská (1937 m), about 1.1 km away, and continues to Žiarska hoľa (1841 m). The massif forms a three-armed node: a short northern arm joins it to the main ridge over a distinct saddle (about 1865 m), the south-eastern arm drops steeply via Snožka (1378 m) to the confluence of the Vajskovský and Kulichov streams, and the south-western arm descends via Žiarska hoľa and Žiar (1408 m) to the Lopej basin. Skalka divides the cirques closing the Vajskovská dolina in the east and the Lomnistá dolina in the west. Around it rise Chabenec (1955 m) and Ďurková to the west, Dereše (2004 m) to the east, and Poľana (1889 m) and Kotliská to the north. All its water drains to the Hron.

How to get there / routes

A yellow trail crosses the summit:

• From the south – from the Črmné junction at the mouth of the Vajskovská dolina (Strmý vŕštek above Dolná Lehota) via the saddle below Žiar, Žiar and Žiarska hoľa. The whole route to Kotliská takes about 4 h 30 min up and 3 h 50 min down.
• From the north – from Kotliská on the main ridge, reached by the red ridge trail, the SNP Heroes' Trail (part of the European path E8).

The summit can only be reached on foot; the ascent is long, so start early.

What you can see from the top

The grassy, rocky ridge and the high summit give an unobstructed all-round panorama. To the north you see much of the main Low Tatras ridge – from Prašivá in the west via Ďumbier to Kráľova hoľa in the east – and to the south most of the Slovak Ore Mountains beyond the Hron valley. In good weather you can also see the Tatras, the Choč Mountains, the Orava Beskids and Oravská Magura, the Lesser and Greater Fatra, Vtáčnik, the Štiavnica Mountains, Javorie, Poľana, and the Vepor and Stolica Mountains.

Nature and history

The massif is built of the Ďumbier-type granites typical of the Low Tatras. The summit is markedly flat – probably a remnant of an old planation surface – while the slopes are steep and dissected. The eastern slopes look the most alpine, falling in steep gullies and buttresses into the glacial cirque at the head of the Vajskovská dolina. The summit dome, especially to the south and west, is covered with alpine grassland; below 1750 m dwarf pine dominates, reaching right up to the summit on the steepest eastern slopes, and below 1500 m grows closed spruce forest.

Tatra marmots and chamois live on the steep slopes – chamois were brought here from the Tatras, to the head of the Lomnistá dolina, in 1969–1974. Brown bears are frequent visitors. The whole massif lies in the Low Tatras National Park (NAPANT) and in the Skalka national nature reserve.

Safety, season and rules

The ridge above the tree line is fully exposed to wind, storms and fog, and in winter there is deep snow and avalanche danger on the cirque slopes. In the national park and the reserve stay on marked trails, leave no litter, and check current NAPANT notices and the avalanche forecast before you go. Keep bears in mind. Slovak Mountain Rescue Service (HZS): 18 300 (+421 18 300) or 112.

Interesting facts

• Skalka is the fifth-highest peak of the Low Tatras.
• The Low Tatra chamois descend from animals released from the Tatras right below Skalka.
• The nearest higher summit is about 4 km away.

Photos: Rafik k, CC BY-SA 4.0; Jerzy Opioła, CC BY-SA 4.0; Daniel Baránek, CC BY-SA 3.0; Jerzy Opioła, CC BY-SA 4.0; Michal Klajban, CC BY-SA 3.0 — Wikimedia Commons.