Low Tatras National Park (Slovak: Národný park Nízke Tatry; abbr. NAPANT) is a national park in Central Slovakia, located between the valleys of the Váh River and the Hron River. The park and the area around it include the entire Low Tatras mountain range. The National Park has an area of 728 km, and the area around it has an area of 1,102 km, making it the largest national park in Slovakia.
The park is located in parts of the Banská Bystrica Region (Banská Bystrica and Brezno districts), the Žilina Region (Ružomberok and Liptovský Mikuláš districts), and the Prešov Region (Poprad District). The highest mountain in the park is Ďumbier, which reaches 2,043 m or 7,063 ft. Four major rivers in Slovakia begin below the Kráľova hoľa peak: Váh, Hron, Hnilec, and Hornád.
History
The process to protect the Low Tatras area began with early efforts between 1918 and 1921 and after World War II. In 1963, a plan was suggested to create the National Park Low Tatras, called the Central Slovakia National Park. Between 1965 and 1966, before the final plan was completed, a draft for a National Park Ďumbier was proposed. This draft aimed to include the northern and southern parts of the central area of the Low Tatras. From 1967 to 1968, the draft was changed to establish the national park on the 25th anniversary of the Slovak National Uprising. However, it took 10 more years to solve many problems that stopped the park from being created. In 1978, the national park was officially formed through Regulation 119/1978 of the Slovak Socialistic Republic. The park covered 81,095 hectares, and its protection zone covered 123,990 hectares. The official status of the park was announced the same year by the Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Socialistic Republic in Regulation 120/1978. This regulation explained the rules for protecting different areas.
The park’s borders and protection zones were updated on June 17, 1997, by Regulation No 182/1997 of the Slovak Republic government. The revised park area measured 72,842 hectares, which is 8,253 hectares smaller than the original size. The revised protection zone area was adjusted to 110,162 hectares, which is 13,828 hectares smaller than the area set in 1978.
Tourism
The park has good conditions for many sports activities. Some of the resorts in the area are Jasna Low Tatras, Tále, Demänovská dolina, and Čertovica. These caves are open to the public: Demänovská jaskyňa Slobody (Demänovská Cave of Freedom), Demänovská ľadová jaskyňa (Demänovská Ice Cave), Bystrá Cave, Važecká Cave, and the Cave of Dead Bats.
Protected areas
In the park and its surrounding area, the following protected areas have been set up, covering a total area of 98.89 square kilometers:
- 10 national nature reserves
- 10 nature reserves, such as Horné lazy
- 5 national nature monuments
- 6 nature monuments
- 1 protected site