Tatras

Tatra or Tatras (in Polish and Slovak Tatry, which is a plural proper noun) is a mountain range on the border of Poland and Slovakia, the highest part of the Carpathian Mountains. The major part and all the highest peaks of the mountains are situated in Slovakia. The highest peak, at 2655 m, is the Gerlachovský štít, located in Slovakia.

The area is a well-known winter sport area, with resorts such as the (Town of) High Tatra - in Slovak (Mesto) Vysoké Tatry (created in 1999 and including the former separate resorts Štrbské pleso, Starý Smokovec, and Tatranská Lomnica) and Poprad in Slovakia, or Zakopane in Poland.

The Tatra(s) consists of the "Western Tatra(s)" (Slovak: Západné Tatry, Polish: Tatry Zachodnie) and the "Eastern Tatra(s)" (Východné Tatry, Tatry Wschodnie). The Eastern Tatra(s), in turn, consists of the High Tatra (Vysoké Tatry, Tatry Wysokie) and the "Belianske Tatra(s)" (Belianske Tatry, Tatry Bielanskie). The High Tatras, with their 24 (or 25) peaks more than 2500 m above sea level are the only mountains with an Alpine character in the whole of the 1200 km length of the Carpathian Mountain range.

The Tatra(s) should be distinguished from another Slovakian mountain range, the Low Tatra(s) (in Slovak Nízke Tatry), situated south of the Tatra(s). Sometimes, however, the term Tatras freely refers to both the Tatra(s) and the Low Tatra(s).

The Tatra(s) National Park (TANAP) in the Tatra(s) was founded in 1949.

On 19 November 2004, a great portion of the forest in High Tatras was damaged by a wind blast of more than 100 mph. Three million cubic metres of wood were knocked down, 2 people died, and many villages in the High Tatras were cut off from the rest of the world.

External link

Tourist website:

• High Tatras National Park - Tourist guide and regulations
• Tourist and hotel guide
• Go-Zakopane.com - interactive Travel Guide to Tatra Mountains
• - a page dedicated to help to renew the Tatras

Panoramic view from the Rysy (2499m): http://merzhase.de/hightatras/rysi/