Do you know that feeling when you know a place has a million flaws, but you love it unconditionally anyway? That’s exactly the kind of relationship I have with Rysy (2,501 m above sea level).
If Kriváň represents lonely suffering and an endless machine for destroying your legs, Rysy is its complete opposite. It’s my absolute, unquestionable favourite. And I say that fully aware that climbing Rysy in July or August can sometimes feel like trying to squeeze onto the morning metro at Můstek station in Prague.
Yes, it’s crowded. Yes, sometimes you literally queue for a piece of rock like people once queued for bananas under socialism. The Polish hikers huff their way up from one side, the Slovaks from the other, and at the summit, everyone meets in one enormous international human stew.
But there’s such an incredible, almost magical energy to this mountain that I forgive the crowds every single time – and by the time I’m back in the car, I’m already planning my next visit.
The First Few Kilometres: An Innocent Beginning That Lulls You Into a False Sense of Security
The whole madness usually begins at Štrbské Pleso or at the Popradské Pleso stop. The first few kilometres are actually lovely and wonderfully relaxed. You walk along an asphalt road or an easy forest trail, the sun is shining, a stream is bubbling nearby, and you think:
“People online are seriously exaggerating. This is a piece of cake.”
Then you reach the crossroads above Popradské Pleso, turn onto the blue trail, and suddenly realise the fairy tale is over.
The path starts climbing steeply through a series of switchbacks in the dwarf mountain pine. The sun starts beating down on you, there’s practically no shade anywhere, and for the first time you begin regretting not having that extra cup of coffee in the morning.
When you finally scramble up to the Žabie Plesá lakes, a stunning glacial basin opens up before you. The water is so unbelievably blue and clear that you’ll want to jump straight in (which, of course, you absolutely must not).
This is where most people unpack their snacks for the first time, sit down on the rocks and gather their strength for what comes next.
Because above Žabie Plesá, the real Tatra wilderness begins.
The Detour You Absolutely Shouldn’t Miss: Veľké Hincovo Pleso
As you climb through the Mengusovská Valley towards Rysy, you eventually reach an important crossroads. The blue trail continues straight through the valley, while the red trail turns right towards Žabie Plesá and Chata pod Rysmi.
If you still have some strength left in your legs – or if, somewhere along the way, you realise that you simply aren’t in the mood to join those insane queues at the chains today – take a little detour and continue along the blue trail.
It will lead you to Veľké Hincovo Pleso (1,946 m above sea level).
And believe me, this place will take your breath away.
Hincovo Pleso is the undisputed king of Slovak mountain lakes. It is the largest and deepest glacial lake on the Slovak side of the Tatras. Imagine a gigantic body of water reaching an incredible depth of 53 metres!
The water is unbelievably cold, clear and transparent, allowing you to see deep beneath the surface. Its colour ranges from sapphire blue to deep, almost inky black.
The lake is surrounded on three sides by monumental mountain peaks, including Mengusovský Volovec and Kôprovský štít, which are reflected in the vast surface of the water like a perfect mirror.
The atmosphere here is completely different from Rysy. There’s no hut, no shouting crowds. Usually, there are just a handful of hikers sitting on enormous boulders along the shore, eating their snacks and staring in fascination at the huge dark mass of water.
In winter and spring, the lake remains frozen for an exceptionally long time – the ice often stays until the beginning of summer. If you catch a day when the sun is shining on the lake while patches of snow are still lying all around, you’ll feel as if you’ve landed somewhere on an expedition to Iceland or Norway.
For me, Hincovo Pleso is the perfect Plan B.
When Rysy is completely jammed with people, simply skip the turn, come here, sit by the shore, let the cold wind clear your head and quietly stare at the most beautiful natural mirror in all of Slovakia.
The Road to Chata pod Rysmi: Pure Purgatory
If you think Chata pod Rysmi is your reward, getting there is pure purgatory.
After Žabie Plesá, the trail suddenly becomes incredibly steep and you start grinding your knees into the scree. And it’s right here, still well below the hut, that you face your first real test – the first section with chains and metal footholds.
This section below the hut is basically training for the summit itself. The rock is steep, sometimes wet from trickling water, and for the first time you have to grab hold of cold metal chains.
For anyone with even a mild fear of heights, this is the perfect place for your first panic attack.
Once you overcome this technical little challenge, you expect the hut to be just around the corner.
Spoiler: It isn’t.
Instead, you get an endless, drawn-out and soul-crushing climb through loose scree. The sun is beating down, the hut is hidden somewhere beyond the horizon, and you move forward at a pace of “two steps forward, one slide backwards.”
Every boulder looks exactly the same.
You start to feel as if you’re trapped in a time loop and this scree highway simply has no end. Your lungs are burning, your thighs are protesting and inside your head you’re cursing yourself for every bad decision that led you here instead of staying down by the lake.
And just when you’re running on fumes and your legs have turned to jelly, the metal oasis decorated with colourful prayer flags finally appears above you.
Chata pod Rysmi: An Oasis of Freedom, a Reality Check and the Best Kofola in the World
Unlike barren Kriváň, where the only thing waiting for you at the top is a spectacular view, Rysy has one enormous trump card up its sleeve: Chata pod Rysmi (2,250 m above sea level).
It is the highest mountain hut in Slovakia.
When your legs can barely carry you anymore and your lungs are about to give up, this metal hut decorated with colourful Tibetan prayer flags suddenly emerges from the mist.
The atmosphere is simply impossible to describe.
Hundreds of exhausted hikers are sitting all around, the smell of soup drifts out from the hut, and there’s this incredible sense of peace and camaraderie.
All the food, drinks, beer and even the gas canisters are carried up on the porters’ own backs by the incredible mountain porters, the Tatra Sherpas.
When you’re sitting on a bench and watch a guy calmly and cheerfully marching up the slope with a 60-kilogram keg of beer strapped to a wooden pack frame, you immediately get such a massive reality check that you stop complaining about your aching shoulder from the backpack.
And then there’s their legendary toilet.
A few dozen metres from the hut, right above a deep drop, stands a colourful wooden outhouse. It’s painted in bright colours, and from the front you get a spectacular view while doing your business :D.
Imagine it: you’re sitting there, taking care of business, while looking through the window at enormous Tatra peaks and deep valleys below you.
That is an experience even the most luxurious five-star hotel in the world couldn’t possibly compete with.
And of course, there’s a queue – not just for the toilet, but mainly for the photo.
One big international traffic jam.
The Final Push: The Real Václavák
Behind the hut, all the fun ends and the most exciting part of the entire route begins.
The trail to the actual summit still climbs a long way into the sky. And this is where you experience the true, authentic “Václavák”.
During peak season, proper human traffic jams form here. Especially in summer, you simply have to summon the patience of an elephant and surrender to the human flow.
But you know what’s strange?
The atmosphere is actually wonderful.
Nobody is yelling at anyone. People are considerate, they help each other, point out where it’s safe to step, crack jokes and share the same physical suffering with smiles on their faces.
It’s a strange kind of international mountain solidarity.
The Summit Shock: A View That Sends Chills Down Your Spine
Another steep climb takes you to Váha Saddle.
The northern wind hits you hard in the saddle, and the final wall of Rysy rises in front of you.
When you finally overcome the last rocks and scramble onto the summit itself, you experience the moment that makes all of this worthwhile.
The summit of Rysy is actually tiny, narrow and pointed. When there are lots of people, you’re literally sitting shoulder to shoulder with complete strangers, like chickens on a perch.
But the second you lift your head and look around, you forget about the people, the queues at the chains and your burning calves.
Because the view from Rysy is pure, unfiltered visual ecstasy.
Directly below you, on the Polish side, the mountainside plunges deep towards enormous glacial lakes. You can see the famous Morskie Oko and the slightly higher Czarny Staw pod Rysami.
From this height, the lakes have an incredible, deep emerald colour, and wisps of white mist sometimes rise from their surfaces, giving the entire landscape an almost surreal, dramatic atmosphere.
Sharp, jagged peaks of the High Tatras rise in every direction around you, looking from a distance like enormous petrified ocean waves.
The air is so thin and pure that you feel as if you could reach out and touch the sky.
You sit there, chewing on your squashed Tatranka wafer, staring into the endless depths and feeling such an overwhelming sense of freedom and euphoria that you don’t even want to go back down.
And in that moment, you finally understand why you love these overcrowded Rysy so much.
This mountain simply has a soul.
The Verdict
Rysy may be a tourist hotspot, but it’s a tourist hotspot with the best energy in the entire Tatras.
The combination of the climb, the adrenaline of the chains, the funniest toilet above an abyss and the magical mountain lakes makes this hike an absolute must for any serious hiker.
Rysy are, and always will be, my ultimate favourite mountain in the Tatras.
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