The jewel of the Slovak Paradise

Kyseľ Gorge is perhaps the most beautiful gorge in the Slovak Paradise National Park. Even if someone does not agree with this statement, then everyone must agree with the fact that it is different from other gorges in this park. This is because crossing it is not classic tourism. It is a ferrata and everyone has a unique experience. Everyone who wants to go through it will be armed with a ferrate set. Helmets, staples, chains and ropes are part of the hike I went on with a friend.

A 21.3-kilometer hike awaits us with a total elevation gain of 829 meters. They write on the internet that we should be able to do it in eight hours and 20 minutes, so we'll see.

We start the tour in Čingov. Right here we park the car, rent a ferret set and go upstream of the Hornád River and later upstream of the Bielý potok to the mouth of the Kyseľ. Until now, it was a slight climb, while we crossed the water using wooden ladders.

We fold our backpacks at the mouth of Kyseľ. Not that we were tired and wanted to take a break. We choose a ferrate set and try to put it on. It takes us a while to figure out how he dresses as we dress him for the first time.

We can try it in a few meters right away. We come to the first metal stairs shortly after entering the gorge. Above a small stream, there are metal stairs loaded on the rock. We attach our carabiners to a metal rope, which is also charged in the rock. We have carabiners attached to the straps that we have around the waist and under the buttocks. This should protect us from a possible fall.

We tested the principle of how it works and how carabiners are connected. After a while, however, I feel a little embarrassed, because we are at a height of about half a meter above the ground. In fact, if we wanted, we could walk this section around the stairs along the stream. However, this section serves precisely for tourists to safely try out the use of the ferrate set. We did so and continue the tour.

We enthusiastically walk against the current with a slight rise in anticipation, which awaits us deeper in the gorge.

The Kyseľ gorge was hit by a large fire in 1976. Up to 30 hectares of forest burned then. Since then, the tourist trail has been closed to the public for 40 years due to the danger of falling loose rocks and trees. At present, the fallen trees in the gorge are an obstacle that needs to be overcome.

It doesn't take long and we use our equipment again when crossing the Barricade Waterfall.

One waterfall replaces the other. This penetrates through a small gap in the rock. We continue on the iron stairs.

The gorge has narrowed significantly and we enjoy the ferrata to the fullest.

At this point, nature has created a small lake, which is surrounded by large rock walls.

We come to the narrowest part of the gorge, to Temnice. With my bag on my back, I can barely push myself through this narrow slit. Narrow space, a stream flows below us, the atmosphere is amazing.

And we can already see the light at the end of the tunnel. I will tell you the truth that I do not want to leave this narrow space and I would like him to go even further. Who knows, maybe we'll still go through another section like this.

We start out of Temnice and continue upstream.

In front of us is another section where trees are fallen.

We use our ferrata set again, but this time for the last time.

We come to the Huge Waterfall, which definitely deserves its name. It is the largest waterfall and also the last waterfall in the gorge.

We successfully crossed the Kyseľ gorge. It's time to relax and get some fresh strength for the next march.

We take away many beautiful experiences from the Kyseľ gorge. However, our hike is not over yet and the Malý Kyseľ gorge awaits us before the way back. But I will tell you about it in the next article.

Well thank you.

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