Summer hike to the Veľká Chochuľa (1,753 m) – Low Tatras (Nízke Tatry)

Circular hike in the westernmost part of the Low Tatras National Park during summer 2021 with our children. We started from the abandoned spa resort Korytnica (818 m), followed the marked blue-red trail upwards and hiked over the Low Tatras mountain ridge (Prašivá (1,675 m), Malá Chochul’a (1,719 m)) up to the Veľká Chochuľa (1,753 m). Awesome view over the national parks of the Malá Fatra, Veľká Fatra, Low Tatras (Nízke Tatry) and the western and eastern High Tatras (Západné Tatry and Vysoké Tatry).

We opted to return via an unmarked route over the northern flanks of the Malá Chochul’a. Until just before the forest it was an easy steep downhill hike through the high green grasses and the narrow path was clearly visible. As soon as we entered the forest we were plagued by hundreds of dead and fallen pine trees that made the path (if any) completely invisible. On the Skorušová (1,348 m) we identified ‘something’ that looked like a path but after hundred metres it disappeared again. Then we then we went straight down the mountainside by GPS through the pine forests into the valley. In the valley the paths were anything but maintained, and there was also logging going on so the remaining paths were often inaccessible, otherwise they appeared to be largely overgrown … so around Korytnica, it is therefore advisable to follow the marked paths, unless you are adventurous and have a GPS, because orientation in the dense forests is virtually impossible.