Tatranská magistrála

The red trail along the foot of the High Tatras, from Veľké Biele pleso to Podbanské: hut to hut past the mountain lakes, with each hut's booking, the winter closure of the high sections and the Tatra electric railway below.

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50kmMapped distance
1,777mMapped ascent
8Walking stages

Best season: June to October; the high sections are closed 1 November to 31 May. Under the TANAP visitor rules the high sections close every year from 1 November to 31 May: Kopské sedlo to Veľké Biele pleso, Zelené pleso to Skalnaté pleso, and Sliezsky dom to Popradské pleso and on to the Trigan junction. In 2026 they opened on 1 June. The huts stay open all year, and the lower sections by Hrebienok and Štrbské Pleso can be walked in winter. Snow can come early: on 22 September 2026 the mountain forecast reported continuous snow above 1,700 m. Before you go

Loading your plan…

Plan your days

Your dates

Checking the seasons, closures and current conditions for today…

Eight sections, each ending at a hut or a village, east to west. The high sections close from 1 November to 31 May. Choose a plan, or pick your own start, finish and nights below.

Hut seasons as published. 2026: 2 of 3 huts have published dates, all open 1 January to 31 December.

3-day plan

Loading topographic map…
1,000m1,200m1,400m1,600m1,800m2,000m010 km20 km30 km40 km46.8 km2,037m931m
Flat (<5%) Gentle (5–10%) Moderate (10–15%) Steep (15–25%) Very steep (>25%)
Each day in its own colour, numbered where it starts; the rest of the Tatranská magistrála in grey. Select a day for its elevation and 3D flyover.

Make your own plan

Changing where you stay suggests a new number of days: the fewest that keep each day under 8 h of walking and in daylight, where a place to stay allows.

Choose your nights (2 nights)

Days end where the route has a stay, a camp or a village.

Day by day

  1. Day 1

    Chata pri Zelenom plese to Zamkovského chata

    Stage 2, Stage 3

    Distance
    8.3 km
    Climb
    +487 / −542 m
    Walking
    2 h 52our walking estimate

    Closed on set days: km 0–5.6 of stage 2. Closed every year from 1 November to 31 May by the TANAP visitor rules: Zelené pleso over the Sedlo pod Svišťovkou to Skalnaté pleso. Fines up to €300.

    Stage 2: Up to the Sedlo pod Svišťovkou, about 2,023 m, the highest point: steep hairpins, scree and chained exposed passages, then down to Skalnaté pleso. Closed every year from 1 November to 31 May.

    Stage 3: Down from Skalnaté pleso to Zamkovského chata. The cable car links Skalnaté pleso with Tatranská Lomnica.

    Overnight

    Zamkovského chata

    Staffed mountain hut · 1,475 m

    Pick a date to check the season.

    Season
    2026 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2026 Open all year. zamka.sk, read 26 September 20262027 2027 dates not published Open all year as a rule; 2027 prices are not out yet. zamka.sk, read 26 September 2026
    Places
    24 places in total · Half board offered 24 places.
    Booking
    Book by email Book by email or phone, with a deposit, refunded in full up to 21 days ahead. In 2026 a bed in a tourist room was €30, half board €28, plus €3.50 tax.
    Contact
    Official site +421 905 554 471 zamka@zamka.sk

    OpenStreetMap

    Day 1 GPX Open in Planner

  2. Day 2

    Zamkovského chata to Popradské pleso

    Stage 4, Stage 5, Stage 6

    Distance
    18.7 km
    Climb
    +891 / −852 m
    Walking
    5 h 52our walking estimate

    Closed on set days: km 0–9.9 of stage 6. Closed every year from 1 November to 31 May by the TANAP visitor rules: Sliezsky dom by Batizovské pleso and the Sedlo pod Ostrvou to the junction above Popradské pleso.

    Stage 4: To Hrebienok past Rainerova chata, which serves food but has no beds. The stretch from Hrebienok to Rainerova reopened on 1 August 2026 after repairs.

    Stage 5: Up the Velická dolina to Sliezsky dom, a mountain hotel by Velické pleso.

    Stage 6: The high middle of the trail, by Batizovské pleso and the Sedlo pod Ostrvou, about 1,966 m. Closed every year from 1 November to 31 May.

    By the lake, a short way below the magistrála; 1 h up the blue trail from the Popradské Pleso railway stop.

    Day 2 GPX Open in Planner

  3. Day 3

    Popradské pleso to Podbanské

    Stage 7, Stage 8

    Distance
    19.8 km
    Climb
    +334 / −920 m
    Walking
    5 h 12our walking estimate

    Closed on set days: km 0–2.4 of stage 7. Closed every year from 1 November to 31 May by the TANAP visitor rules: the junction above Popradské pleso to the Trigan junction.

    Stage 7: Past Popradské pleso and the Trigan junction down to Štrbské Pleso and its railway. The first part, to the Trigan junction, is closed from 1 November to 31 May.

    Stage 8: The long, low western section through the forest by Jamské pleso and Tri studničky to Podbanské. Chata kpt. Rašu at Tri studničky burned down in 1999: there is no hut on this section.

    Day 3 GPX Open in Planner

Longest day: day 2, 5 h 52.

How these plans are made

Days end at a stage end with a refuge or a village, or in a village the route passes through. Walking times are our estimate from distance and climb: no time is published for these stages. Running times use 7.5 km/h plus one hour per 700 m of climb: a steady reference, not a prediction. Daylight is sunrise to sunset where the day starts; the time left is for breaks, meals and delays.Refuge dates come from the operator's own pages; when they are not published, we say so. For villages we count the places to stay OpenStreetMap lists; we have not checked which are open. A plan is not a booking: reserve every night before you commit to these day lengths.

Huts and stays, stage by stage

Where each stage ends, the 2026 and 2027 seasons the operator publishes, and how to book. Read from the operators' pages on 26 September 2026; each stage page shows the sources and the grade profile.

StageNight at20262027Booking
1. Veľké Biele pleso to Chata pri Zelenom pleseChata pri Zelenom plese · 1551 m 1 January 2026 to 31 December 20262027 dates not publishedBook by email
2. Chata pri Zelenom plese to Skalnatá chataSkalnatá chata · 1725 m Not checkedNot checkedBooking request
3. Skalnatá chata to Zamkovského chataZamkovského chata · 1475 m 1 January 2026 to 31 December 20262027 dates not publishedBook by email
4. Zamkovského chata to HrebienokBilíkova chata · 1255 m Not checkedNot checkedBook online
5. Hrebienok to Sliezsky domSliezsky dom · 1670 m 1 January 2026 to 31 December 20262027 dates not publishedBook online
6. Sliezsky dom to Popradské plesoHorský hotel Popradské pleso · 1494 m Not checkedNot checkedBook online
7. Popradské pleso to Štrbské PlesoŠtrbské Pleso · OpenStreetMap lists at least 16 places to stayEach host has its own seasonBook with a host
8. Štrbské Pleso to PodbanskéPodbanské · OpenStreetMap lists at least 8 places to stayEach host has its own seasonBook with a host

Weather this week

Loading the forecast for low point (930 m) and high point (2,050 m)…

Weather by month

Typical weather on this trail: at the lowest point (930 m) and the highest point (2,050 m). Select a month to see why it is rated as it is.

Monthly climate averages and daylight
Month
WeatherPoorPoorPoorPoorPoorGoodGoodGoodGoodMixedPoorPoor
Stages rated good on typical weather0/80/80/80/83/88/88/88/87/80/80/80/8
High point, day / night-6°/-12°-6°/-12°-3°/-9°3°/-5°8°/-1°12°/3°13°/4°14°/5°8°/1°4°/-2°0°/-6°-5°/-10°
Low point, day / night1°/-8°1°/-7°4°/-4°11°/1°16°/5°19°/8°21°/10°21°/9°16°/6°11°/2°6°/-1°1°/-6°
Rain, mm7383881011421761921561331039483
Snow at high pointLikelyLikelyLikelyLikelyLikely–––PossiblePossibleLikelyLikely
Daylight8 h 3810 h 0711 h 4813 h 4015 h 1616 h 1215 h 5114 h 2812 h 4110 h 549 h 128 h 15

Source: TerraClimate 1991–2020 monthly averages. Averages for the area at each point’s elevation (4 km grid, corrected for height). Not a forecast or a report of current trail conditions. Snow at the high point is estimated with a simple snowpack model from these temperatures and precipitation, not observed; steep islands and high summits can hold more snow than it shows. Daylight is for the 15th of each month. Hut, transport and park seasons are separate: check them for your dates.

Before you go

Prepare for the Tatranská magistrála

Arrange your stays, food and travel first, then check conditions again near departure.

Book each hut directly

The huts take bookings by email, phone or their own sites; some want a deposit and some cash on arrival. Camping in the national park is not allowed. Each night below shows how to book and the prices read from the hut's page.

The winter closure

Every year from 1 November to 31 May the high sections are closed under the TANAP visitor rules, with fines up to €300: Kopské sedlo to Veľké Biele pleso, Zelené pleso to Skalnaté pleso, and Sliezsky dom to Popradské pleso and the Trigan junction. The huts stay open, reached by the lower trails.

TANAP: the closed trails (PDF)

Rules in the national park

Walk only on marked trails and only in daylight, except the shortest way to the hut you sleep at. No camping, and no dogs in the high mountains or most huts.

TANAP: hiking rules

Mountain rescue and insurance

The Horská záchranná služba answers on 18 300. In Slovakia the person rescued pays for a mountain rescue: take insurance that covers it.

HZS: mountain rescue

Bears

Brown bears live along the trail. TANAP runs a bear response team on +421 903 987 628.

TANAP: the brown bear

Getting there

Connect your journey

Choose a stage or journey above to narrow the travel searches.

Directions to this start Travel from this finish

Google Maps journey searches, not confirmed services. A mountain endpoint may need a booked transfer or an additional walk.

The Tatra electric railway

The Tatra electric railway runs from Poprad along the foot of the mountains to Starý Smokovec, Tatranská Lomnica and Štrbské Pleso, with stops at Popradské Pleso and Tatranská Polianka below the huts. A rack railway climbs from Štrba to Štrbské Pleso.

ZSSK: the Tatra ticket

To Hrebienok

Hrebienok, the start of the two-day plan, is the top of the funicular from Starý Smokovec on the Tatra electric railway; the funicular is closed from 24 September to 4 November 2026, and the way up on foot starts in Starý Smokovec. Chata pri Zelenom plese and the eastern end have no road or railway: they are reached only on foot.

Vysoké Tatry lifts: opening

Funicular and cable cars

The funicular from Starý Smokovec to Hrebienok is closed from 24 September to 4 November 2026. The cable cars from Tatranská Lomnica to Skalnaté pleso run only at weekends from 9 November to 11 December 2026.

Vysoké Tatry lifts: opening

Take your trip with you

Offline maps

Prepare each section while you have a connection; the signal is patchy between the huts.

Keep your route and maps on your phone for places without a signal. For multi-day trips, prepare them in the installed TrailSplits app.

  1. Open this trail in the app. Install TrailSplits, then open this trail there. On iPhone, downloads in a browser may not be available in the installed app.
  2. Choose your route or stages. Choose Prepare offline above. Wait for the route and maps to finish downloading.
  3. Try it before leaving coverage. Switch offline, close and reopen the app, then use My Hikes to start navigation. Repeat for every part you will need.

Saving a bookmark is not a map download. Storage can be cleared by your device; keep a backup map for remote trips.

Route & sources

About this map

The magistrála is the red-marked trail along the southern foot of the High Tatras. The line here is its relation on OpenStreetMap (planet of 21 September 2026): 50.1 km from Kopské sedlo above Veľké Biele pleso to Podbanské, walked east to west as the regional tourism board describes it, cut at the huts and villages on it. The red trail goes on about 22 km west to Jalovec; this guide ends at Podbanské. The times shown are TrailSplits estimates; the signposts along the trail give their own.

Official guidance and mapped-source comparison checked 26 September 2026. Map data is a route reference, not confirmation of today's path, weather or accommodation availability.

TANAP: hiking rules

Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors · Source relation

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