Trip Abroad: Slovak Paradise

Join me on a trip to the enchanting land of Slovak Paradise, a breath-taking destination that promises a perfect blend of adrenaline-pumping adventures and awe-inspiring natural wonders. Your 6-day journey through this picturesque region will be a symphony of exploration, featuring thrilling via ferrata experiences, encounters with waterfalls of Velky Sokol, Maly and Velky Kysel, and the mesmerizing Prielom Hornadu gorge.

Here’s the plan:
Day 1 Poprad – explore city/ visit nearby castle (Kežmarok Castle).
Arrive in Poprad and meetup for a short walk around city centre, Slovak cuisine and some relax. We can get a train to nearby Kezmarok and visit its stunning castle. Rest up, gear up and eat up.
Day 2 Sucha Bela, the adventure begins
Est. walking time 4-5h , total ascent 489m, total decent 492m.
Day 3 -Velky Sokol gorge.
6-7h total walking time; total ascent 669m; total descent 662m.
Day 4 – If you’re feeling brave enough – Via Ferrata “Kysel”. (https://www.npsr.sk/en/hiking/194/kysel-ferrata).
The ferrata is lvl 3 – B/C difficulty, so should be doable for an average person. If you decide to sit this one out, grab some rest or do your own thing.
Also, bonus - after via ferrata we’ll go trough Velky Kysel gorge :
Day 5 Prielom Hornadu and Kláštorisko
Prielom Hornádu
Kláštorisko
walking time 6-7h, total ascent 713m, total descent 766m.
Day 6 Tomasovsky Vyhlad and Maly Kysel.
Tomasovsky Vyhlad
Maly Kysel
Total walking time 7:30-8:30h , total ascent 1210m; total descent 1204m

Interested ? Here’s what you need to know:
· This is a self-guided trip. I will be there to guide you through set trails and show you things that I find interesting, can even help with translation to some degree, but you are free to do your own thing at your own pace or even do your own trail and just meet the group at the place we will choose for an evening meal.
· You will be responsible for your own safety, booking your flights and accommodation and getting to the start point. So it will require reasonable level of independence, and you can choose how cheap or expensive it will get. This trip will involve public transportation and we can change plans if the weather is too bad or we simply will find something more amazing to do on the day.
· I am happy to help with all of the above. You will receive instructions and invite to WhatsApp group where you get all the small details and get help and more information. We will also use WhatsApp to coordinate the meetup.
· We will be booking accommodation around Hrabusice, make sure you can get to the start point, most routes will start at Podlesok, 053 15 Hrabušice, Slovakia, next to ‘Autocamping’, and we will use nearby train station in Vydrnik (XCV5+W7 Vydrník, Slovakia).
· I am not a tour guide or a mountain guide but you are free to follow at your own will.
· Do not join this trip if you have severe fear of heights.
· The trip requires am average fitness level. Routes will take us 4-8h of walking, climbing ladders and some scrambling. You might get soaked crossing streams. You are not sure if your fit enough? Join the trip and start training!
· Via ferrata requires harness/helmet. The equipment can be prebooked and collected at the start point. Rental costs around 20 EUR a day.
· There is an entrance fee to the park; 1.5 EUR a day (https://www.npsr.sk/en/destination/entry-fee).
· Insurance is recommended.

Cost of the trip depends entirely up to you:
Ø Flight tickets to Slovakia start at around 50£
Ø Accommodation costs start at around 30 Euro Per person per night.
Ø Food and restaurants are approximately 40% cheaper in Slovakia
Ø Public transport is 90%cheaper on avg. than UK
How to join:

1. Be a Ramblers and/or LDWA member (https://www.ramblers.org.uk/membership ; https://ldwa.org.uk/membership/join/enter_details_1.php?action=N)
2. RSVP to this event here, if full - add yourself to waiting list and msg me.
3. After receiving invite to dedicated WhatsApp group ask for details, read though details and book your flights/transport/accommodation.