The Great Cold Valley

In every family there are some issues. One of the issues in my family is that my mom and siblings just don't like to move. Frankly, they are lazy. They enjoy being comfortable at home and as soon as we ask them to join us on a trip we have to be prepared for dozens arguments why they can't go. It usually takes so much effort to convince them and when they finally go with us we have to deal with complaints that make no sense. Let me give you a couple of examples of what my mom would say. Stairs again? No way I'm going there! Why are you walking so fast? It's too hot! It's too cold! Stop taking photos of me! And so on and so on, I guess that you get the idea. I'm sure that some of you might face similar issues at home.

So how do we make everyone happy? We make sure to bring enough snacks and water, take many breaks, choose easier and shorter trails, work on our patience and treat them with nice dinner in the evening. When I write it I realize that this is how you would normally resolve situations with kids but we're using it for adults 😊

I find it important to break their habits when we're there and this was also a reason why we headed to the mountains last time. As usually, it was only me and my husband who were excited about the idea but everyone joined us at the end.

We chose an easy family trail in the Cold valley to Vodopády Studeného Potoka (the Cold Creek Waterfalls). It's a trail with several stops and you can turn around anytime as it's just one way trail, so you don't need to worry that you have to walk the whole circle. It may be true that there are more challenging walks but the views that you get to enjoy here are spectacular.

Here we have Slávkovský Štít (2452 m)

Our walk starts at the Bilíková chata. You can get here by car (but I didn't see the parking space) or by the funicular. You can hike up to here as well but my mom would probably die on the way - not from being tired but from her constant complains 😊 We woke up at 6 am and went to the funicular station. It is recommended to get the tickets in advance as this hiking trail is very popular and many tourists choose the funicular to get up to the mountain. It only takes 7 minutes to get to the trail.

Bilíková chata (cottage) is built at the altitude of 1255 m and it's the starting point of several hiking trails.

Let's go!

Every tourist will be enchanted by the beautiful environment of Studená dolina (Cold valley).

Bradavica (2476 m) is an important summit overlooking three valleys (Slávkovská, Velická and Veľká Studená). To reach the summit you may need some specific climbing equipment.

This bird was munching on the berries and stopped when it realized that something was happening (well, I was taking a photo). It was patiently waiting and when I left it started to enjoy those berries again (I observed it for a while)

You feel so small in the mountains and I like this feeling. It helps me to come back to earth and stay grateful.

My mom taking one of her many breaks and of course we had to wait with her. I don't blame her and I'm proud of her that she braved herself and joined us.

My husband bought a cap with the Slovak cross and now he wears it anytime we are in Slovakia. It's one of the most important things to take with us when we travel there. I guess he would buy a new one if we would forget it at home.

I like that nature there is rough. It's because this is our national park and everything has to be left there the way it is. The logic behind is that nature is strong and will take care of its own 'litter'.

And here we are! There are many of those waterfalls. It was idyllic.

This is us posing in front of the waterfalls. As you can see we could easily get much closer as there were people sitting there on the rocks.

There was a huge storm less than 10 years ago and a large part of the forest was destroyed. There are still many trees reminding us of this event. They lost their needles and I think that many of them break off each year.

We had a petition to clean the forest but it didn't go through as it's protected and the conservationists claim that we should let the forest deal with the consequences of the storm. Well, I think that it would really need some cleaning.

I love the High Tatras. It's the smallest Alpine range in Europe but it has a special place in my heart. I guess it's because it's my home.

And the last view before our picnic time...

Rainerová chata is a popular place for refreshment in the mountains. You can also stay there over night if you're caught in a storm or if it's too dark to go back. We have a large population of wildlife so it's better to stay safe during night.

And now it's time to go back. If it would be up to me I would continue walking but my family convinced me to return. It was good as we had a lot of time to enjoy the wellness in the hotel 😊

Thank you for visiting!

Cheers!