food – measures are being taken to prevent this. If you are nervous about meeting such creatures, and if you visit the less crowded areas, do not go alone, but with a number of companions. Check the current situation at an information office (and see also page 329).
Something that may surprise you, if you have visited other mountainous parts of Europe such as the Alps or Pyrenees, is the lack of cattle and sheep on most mountain pastures. A law was passed in the 1950s forbidding farming because livestock were considered to have caused too much soil erosion. This has been relaxed a little on the Polish side, to keep up the shepherding tradition, where cattle and sheep can now be seen, and the gentle tinkling of cowbells heard, at Polana Chochołowska, Dolina Kościeliska and Hala Kalatówki in the Western Tatras, and at Hala Kopieniec and Rusinowa Polana in the High Tatras. You may sometimes find sheep’s-milk cheese on sale there.
Anemone narcissiflora
Among the birds, woodgrouse, woodcock and partridge abound, and you may hear the distinctive song of a thrush, or the mocking call of a cuckoo. Watch out for the cheeky little alpine accentor, brown all over and similar in size to a robin, likewise very tolerant of humans, but rather than displaying a red breast flashes a patch of under-wing red in flight. Darting over and around the many turbulent streams, you will surely spot a dipper, or a yellow wagtail, and in the streams themselves swim several varieties of trout. Colourful butterflies, including red admiral, brimstone and peacock, flutter among the flowers and sheep in fields and meadows.
Sub-Alpine (Dwarf Pine) zone (1600m to 1850m)
At around 1600m the lofty conifers run out of soil deep enough for their sprawling roots. Here, densely huddled for protection against the fierce winter wind and cold, dwarf pines, with their shorter roots, take over for another 250m or so, before the ground becomes too rocky even for the grip of these tenacious little trees. Here the anemone, edelweiss, gentian, helianthemum and other hardy species thrive.
Alpine zone (1850m to 2300m)
From 1850m upwards, the surface is predominantly bare rock that seems to have no capacity to harbour life, yet life can be found in the cracks – usually tufts of grass or a stunted dwarf pine. There are some grassy alpine meadows, too, where flowers will bloom briefly in July and August, but at this altitude only the hardiest plants manage to exist.
Helianthemum grandiflorum
You will see an occasional lone giant, or a small clump of them, among the dwarves, and sometimes even higher. Usually they are oval-crowned Arolla pine (sembra), defiantly thrusting roots through cracks in the rock to find soil. The outermost limbas in a clump will be branchless on their northern sides, where they are battered by the prevailing winter winds – they are called flag-trees. Sometimes a birch, mountain ash or willow may occur in the dwarf pine belt. The fruit of the limba was once collected by shepherds to provide an aromatic additive to the oil used in spa treatments, but this activity is now banned in the national parks.
A strikingly deep blue gentian (Ciminalis clusii)
You should watch out particularly for the shiny black moss that covers some granite boulders high up above the tree-line – it is very slippery when wet, and rough enough to cut your skin.
You are likely to see on distant rocks a single marmot, or a whole family basking in the sun. This large brown rodent is closely related to the squirrel, but in size and shape comparable to the badger. You will probably hear its gull-like yelp, even if you fail to see the animal itself. Also above the tree-line you may see groups of chamois – the symbol of the TANAP national park in Slovakia, and of the mountain guides in Poland – springing nimbly from ledge to precarious ledge. Binoculars would certainly be an advantage at this level.
High above, the rock eagle may be seen hovering, then perhaps swooping down on its unsuspecting prey.
Sub-nival zone (above 2300m)
The very highest part of the High Tatras is called the sub-nival (‘below the snowline’) zone, that is, below the level where snow always exists (of course, in this area, that only occurs close to the highest summits). Even at this altitude a wide variety of very tough species can be found if you look carefully, such as mosses, lichens, and in summer the glacier gentian.
Among the fauna, birds of prey are predominant, especially eagles, yet even among the rocks such creatures as ermine, snow-vole and species of mountain mice may be hiding. Some lower areas in the north-facing Polish High Tatras, where snow always exists, are in effect ‘sub-nival’ – in particular Kociol Mięguszowiecki to the south of Morskie Oko, the big tarn in the southeast corner.
Weather
As in all mountain ranges, one thing you can be sure of in the Tatras is that the weather will be changeable. The High Tatras are even more exposed to climatic changes than most other ranges, because of their comparatively small area and great elevation at the heart of Europe, and the weather in the mountains may be completely different from that in the surrounding plains.
Summer is a short season in the mountains – from the beginning of July to the end of August. The Tatras experience high precipitation, which may fall as snow on higher ground. July and especially August are generally the warmest months, but as usual in mountains the hotter the weather the greater the likelihood of thunderstorms – the areas in Slovakia around Veľka Svišťovka, and in Poland around Giewont, Morskie Oko and Czerwone Wierchy, are particularly prone to thunderstorms between noon and 2pm.
The average daytime temperature in the mountain resorts in summer is 20–22°C (68–72°F), but it may be much cooler first thing in the morning and in the late evening.
It is often the case in summer that there are blue skies in the morning, a gathering of clouds during the late morning and early afternoon, followed by a heavy downpour and perhaps a thunderstorm, then the blue skies return in the evening. Do not let this weather pattern detract from the enjoyment of a day’s excursion, but allow for it in the plan. Be ready to set off early on a fine morning, so that you can either be back in the village when the storm breaks, or enjoy an extended lunch in a hospitable chalet.
In late June and early July you can expect to find some paths blocked by snow for short stretches, but in most cases walkers will have trodden a path across it.
Autumn is the best season for many walkers, from the end of August to mid October, when the weather is more settled, warmer than in spring, the air is clear and crisp, and the walking is delightful – albeit sometimes restricted by early snow at higher levels. The average daytime temperature in the resorts is 10–12°C (50–54°F), but it should be warmer at the end of August and beginning of September.
Winter walking (November to March) can be invigorating and charming, providing you take necessary precautions – see ‘Winter walking’, page 59.
Spring is not generally a good time for walking in mountains. In late March and April there is a high risk of avalanches. In May and early June the lower routes are awash from melting snow.
In Slovakia the higher routes are closed from 1 November until 15 June, to protect hibernating animals during the winter, and baby wild animals being reared in spring. In Poland there is no formal closure period, but in practice some routes are impassable at times – you can check at the national park information office on the way to Kuźnice,
