Climb on the Kriváň starts from two points. One is called Tri Studničky ( Three Wells) and the other possibility is Štrbské mountain-lake (Štrbské pleso) going along Jamské pleso. We will start from the first mentioned starting point- Tri studničky. The climb itself is a very challenging, all day long trip but in the same time one of the most fascinating hikes you can experience in Slovakia. Kriváň is without an doubt considered one of the most photogenic, majestic peaks and truly deserve to be a symbol of Slovakia.

Who gets to the top of this magnificent mountain will be speechless and astonished how beautiful Tatras are. The height of 2500 meters above the sea level offers the picture of the High Tatras like they would be on the palm of your hand. Valleys are almost one kilometer lower, surrounded with high-mountain peaks unreachable for ordinary people. This performance is even more breathtaking with the crystal clear turquoise lakes you can enjoy. From this far distance they appear like the turquoise eyes. I counted 6 of these lakes from the top of the mountain.On the other- western side we see colourful ridge of The West Tatras (Západné Tatry) and on the southern side after wide fold called Lipovská kotlina you can see 97 km long edge of The Low Tatras (Nízke Tatry) and at the far back extinguished volcano Poľana.

Starting point- Tri studničky is situated in the height of 1140 m.a.s.l. that means we have to overcome 1354 meters elevation on the 6km long track. Final part of the hike is also the hardest. To pass this approximately 900 meters long part we will have to also climb so it will take us at least an hour. The reason is that there aren´t any tourist paths or any supporting equipment such as chains or foot rests. Footwear plays a very important role on this trip. It must be tight and meet all the other criteria of the good hiking boots. I also recommend tourist staves and it is very important to take enough water ( from our starting point Tri studničky there is only one more place- Krivánsky channel to refill ). But on the first place of importance as it always is with the mountain hiking is the phenomenon of the weather. We have to be careful about the changes and if there is the risk of snow or frost cover we better not try to reach the top and return from the upper part of Veľký Kriváň channel (Veľký Krivánsky žľab) from the point of crossroads.

We will follow the blue tourist track leading tourists from Jamnické pleso.From our starting point Tri studničky we will follow green track leading over Kôprová dolina (valley), passing partisan bunker while hiking across the forest, which is currently dry at several places because of bark beetle. It seems that the forest still has enough energy to recover from this damage. Rowanberry trees are already higher than an adult and under the fallen spruces occur seedlings, raspberries and bilberries. We will hike up to the knee timber level passing between Nižná priehyba and Kriváňska kopa (1773 m.a.s.l.). Then we get below Vyšná Priehyba from where we can enjoy the picturesque view of the mountain impassable steep rock faces and saddlebows heading down to the Kôprovská dolina. The crossroad below the Kvináň peak is only a short distance from here and there we will get to the mentioned blue tourist track. Here we reach the rocky terrain and we will be using not only legs but also our arms. First we climb to the top of Malý Kriváň (Small Kriváň, 2335 m.a.s.l.) continuing the hike on the edge of Pavlov chrbát (Paul´s back) passing Krivánske zelené pleso (K. green lake) till we get to the top of Veľký Kriváň (Big Kriváň) where we can finally shake our hands, enjoy and absorb the unspeakable beauty all around us and rest for a while by the dominant symbolic Slovak double cross.We will go back the same way but really slowly because there is no supporting equipment such as chains and the rocks are slippery. When we get to the crossroad we can decide whether we want to change from blue to green tourist track and go to our starting point Tri Studničky or stay on the blue and get to the Jamnické mountain lake (1:45 to 2 hours from here). This lake is already in the area of forests with nice stone pine bushes around it. From here we will follow the Tatras Main railway line (red sign). Our blue track turns right after about 10 minutes leading us to bus stop Biely Váh (about 45min). This track is also represented on the GPS high-altitude profile created while guiding the members of Spanish mountain club Vetusta from Oviedo. Tourists from western countries often use GPS navigation. In our conditions it is not that necessary because we have really good tourist sign and track marking system – together with Czech republic we are the best in the whole Europe. If your final destination is Štrbské Pleso, we keep going on the red basically on the flat ground all the time. After an hour we get there (from the side from Jamnické lake).If the weather is good the trip to the mountain top with breaks takes 5hours and the way back 3 and a half hours.

Map:

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