A taste of Kosice outdoors – Slovak Paradise National Park

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    [1] => A taste of Kosice outdoors – Slovak Paradise National Park
    [2] => Somewhere between the borders of Poland and Hungary lies a country that few from my part of the world (Asia) have visited – Slovakia. (lydiascapes.com)
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Let me walk you through the rugged and outdoor adventures I experienced here in Kosice and Spiš Region when I was here with Lisa, a Singaporean female friend of mine, as we explored the best of the country. 
My Day through Slovak Paradise National Park 
When I first heard the name of the national park, I already knew I was going to love it. No place would ever dare call itself paradise on earth unless there is something really surreal and unearthly about it, and that’s what you get here when hiking in Slovenský raj National Park (Slovak Paradise).
The entire morning walking through Slovak Paradise, a 1200 metres high national park in Spis Region, is a really refreshing experience as we breathed in the fresh forest air and smell the wood as we walk through the dirt path, pass the waterfalls, up the ladders and hopping from pebble to pebble over the trickling river bank. 
We started our trail at Podlesok (which was where we parked our car and had an awesome lunch at the wooden cabin restaurant there!), then continue on to Prielom Hornadu –> to Klastorska roklina gorge –> Klastorisko - Kysel gorge. There are other trails one can take but we started ours at 8.30 am and finished around 3+pm, as we were going on a slow and relaxing pace with loads of breaks and photo taking.
The weather was lovely on this beautiful day, with a little cloudy but yet no hot blazing sun cast on our back as we trot along from 8 am onwards. We were accompanied by our very ‘young at heart’ guide called Vladimir, the Slovenský raj National Park guide for up to 15 years. He was very energetic and informative as he shared with us the history about the national park and the different segments/partitions in the forest. 
The natural park has incredibly preserved plateaus, deep cut river canyons, gorges with waterfalls and even ice caves which can be visited in summer! 
Look out for some really interesting wildflowers and animals along your trail. We spotted so many exotic flowers like the ‘Orlicek’, a deep purple colour flower, Stokraska, also known as ‘A Hundred Beauties’, Lunaria mesacnia was also known as Moonflower, pupava (my version of dandelion) and lastly an orchid-like flower called Cypripedium calceolus. 
Slovak paradise cannot get more exciting if you don’t work hard to go through the trek. Come prepared with a long sleeve top to block out the wind chills, but no need for thick winterwear as you will work up a little sweat if you walk fast and steady into the hike. It is also useful to have proper waterproof hiking boots given you will be walking on a mix of dirt paths both uphill and downhill, small pebbled walkways and steel narrow bridges to walk in to prevent slipping and twisting your ankle.
In the entire 5-7 hour walk, you will cross up to 7 waterfalls while climbing ladders, steel grills (stupacky) and more. One of the nicest waterfalls we saw was called Rainbow falls, given the pretty rays that burst through the water into colours that you will see when you go up close. Some parts of the trail you can actually stop to refill your water bottle with fresh spring water! 
Other activities one can experience in Slovenský raj National Park: 

Cycling and mountain biking
Rock Climbing in certain areas (wish I did!)
Water Sports
Skiing in Winter Only
Tandem SkyDive/Gliding
Horse Trekking and Riding through the forest (Must Try!)  



MORE INFORMATION IN THE ARTICLE » »
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    [11] => A taste of Kosice outdoors – Slovak Paradise National Park
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    [13] => Somewhere between the borders of Poland and Hungary lies a country that few from my part of the world (Asia) have visited – Slovakia. (lydiascapes.com)
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