Wahlenbergove plesá

Wahlenbergove plesá are two glacial lakes in the upper part of Furkotská dolina in the western High Tatras, within Tatra National Park (TANAP). Vyšné Wahlenbergovo pleso lies at about 2,157 m and fills almost the whole upper storey of the valley — it is one of the highest lakes of the Tatras; only Modré pleso and the seasonal Baranie pliesko lie higher. About 100 m lower, on the fourth step of the valley below the Solisko towers, lies Nižné Wahlenbergovo pleso (2,053 m).

Vyšné pleso is the largest lake in Furkotská dolina: 5.17 ha, 335 by 222 m, up to 20.6 m deep, with a volume of over 390,000 m³. Its water is very clear — up to 17.8 m. It has no surface inflow or outflow: the water seeps through the rock step to smaller tarns and on to Nižné pleso. Because of its altitude the lake stays frozen for a long time: in 1911 it was ice-free for only 10 days, and at the end of the 20th century for 50 days a year on average. Nižné pleso is smaller — 2.01 ha and about 8 m deep.

Both tarns were named in 1890 after the Swedish botanist and physician Göran Wahlenberg, who studied the vegetation of the High Tatras in 1813. Poles call them the Great Furkotne Ponds, after the valley or the Furkot peak. The valley itself was probably named by shepherds from Važec and Štrba after the "frkot", the splashing of water in the Furkotský potok. Its glacial past is also attested by a rare fairy shrimp, Branchinecta paludosa, which lives in one of the valley's tarns.

What to see and do

• Vyšné pleso in its stone bowl — from the climb to the Bystrá lávka saddle it looks like a dark heart among the boulder fields, below Furkotský štít and the walls of Kozí chrbát.
• Nižné pleso and the Solisko pools — on the way up the path passes small tarns between the two big ones.
• The loop around Solisko — up Mlynická dolina past Capie pleso, over Bystrá lávka and down Furkotská dolina past the Wahlenberg tarns.

How to get there

The tarns lie on the Štrbské Pleso – Junction below Furkotská Valley route. From Štrbské Pleso first follow the red Tatranská magistrála west, then the yellow path up the valley: to Nižné pleso 2 h 15 min (1 h 45 min down), to Vyšné 2 h 35 min (2 h down), and from Vyšné to the Bystrá lávka saddle another 30 min. The ascent from Štrbské Pleso (1,346 m) is over 800 m, so this is a serious high-mountain hike. The saddle may be crossed in both directions, but the recommended way is up Mlynická and down Furkotská dolina — there are fewer queues on the chains at Bystrá lávka. Furkotská dolina gets fewer visitors than neighbouring Mlynická, so it is usually quieter.

Season and safety

The yellow trail through Furkotská dolina from the junction on the magistrála to Bystrá lávka is closed from 1 November to 31 May (§ 4 of the TANAP Visitor Regulations, decree 26/2023), so you can visit the tarns from 1 June to 31 October. Entry to TANAP is free. You may walk only on marked trails and only in daylight; dogs are not allowed in Furkotská dolina, and drones are banned without a permit. Even in summer snowfields lie here, and the weather above 2,000 m changes fast. Mountain Rescue Service HZS: 18 300, general emergency number 112.

Nearby

• Capie pleso — on the other side of Bystrá lávka.
• Jamské pleso — on the magistrála near the mouth of the valley.
• Veľké Solisko and Kriváň — nearby summits.
• Štrbské pleso — the starting point.

Official website: tanap.sk

Photos: Punteador, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons; Michal Klajban, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons; Michal Jakubský, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons; Rafał Kozubek, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons; Jerzy Opioła, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.