Suchá Belá Hike

Suchá Belá was the last hike that we did from our "base" in Poprad. It was our fifth hike in the High Tatras / Slovensky Raj National Park area. Suchá Belá, like Velký Sokol, is another gorge hike - the trail winds up through a narrow gorge with steep rock walls on both sies. There are numerous ladders, bridges and walkways to assist the hiker over the obstacles and climbs - otherwise, traversing this gorge would not be possible. Several of the tall ladders are mounted to the rock face right next to the waterfalls, so on a windy day, hikers might get wet! (We were hiking on the last day of August, so it was probably the driest time of year to visit the gorge.) Suchá Belá is a popular hike, but because we started early, we did not have a problem with crowds.

The Suchá Belá hike is easy. Sure, there are ladders to climb, but that's part of the fun. Although the trail gains about 400 meters, it isn't strenous. Nor is the trail too long, we completed the entire circuit in less than five hours. This makes the trail ideal for a nice outing, suitable for everyone (except maybe young children, the ladders might be too risky for the youngsters, especially if it is wet. I read one on-line report that said that in rainy conditions hikers have to wade through ankle deep water in places, but our boots never even got wet.

Suchá Belá is a one way hike - once you start, you cannot turn back. A different on-line report said that rangers fined people if they were caught going in the opposite direction. The reason to keep everyone headed in one direction is to avoid bottlenecks at the ladders. Some of the ladders are quite tall, and it would create long wait times if people had to wait for some hikers to descend the ladder before being able to start up.

Overall, this was an enjoyable hike. But start early if you are going to try it (the parking lot at Podlesok opens at 7 A.M.)

Here are couple maps showing the Suchá Belá hike. An online link to Another hike map

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Suchá Belá Photos