Suchá Belá

Suchá Belá is a park located near Hrabušice in Slovakia in the Slovenský Raj National Park. For about $5US per person, you can enter the park and hike along the Sucha Bela trail that ascends from near the parking lot (550m elevation) to the 950 meter elevation mark. The route is just over 6 miles long, but it is on uneven, slippery terrain. Having said that, I saw people of all ages working their way up the trail – sometimes even in flip flops!

Waterfall

After you pay at the gate, you walk along a road past a restaurant and some concession services. You continue to the trailhead where you present your entrance ticket that you purchased in the parking lot. From here, you’re immediately on a narrow trail. At first, there was even come confusion on my part as to where to go (the trail isn’t well defined at first because it is carved from rock). As you get higher, the route becomes more evident: mostly because there are bridges and ladders marking most of the way.

Well made steps – much better than some of the more rickety ladders.

Tall Ladders at Suchabella

Further up the canyon, you sometimes find yourself walking in the creek bed, which is probably the official route. I did witness a few people almost fall – sometimes with potentially severe consequences – so this routed does require some care due to the slippery surface and rickety construction of the walkways.

Deep Canyons at Suchabella

Kofola is a really uplifting beverage. Although it has less caffeine than Coke (about half), it somehow left me feeling energized and extremely happy.

When you arrive at the top of the trail, you have the option of walking down the dirt road back to the parking lot (I suppose you could return down the ladders as well, but no one I saw was doing that). I prefer loops, so I walked down the dirt road. At the top, for another $5US, you can rent a bicycle and roll (mostly) downhill to the parking lot. I did not see them handing out helmets, and the bikes were of lower quality – so you might want to take that into consideration before choosing to ride down!