Nature and countryside conservation – 50th anniversary of the Tatra National Park

500 Sk commemorative silver coin

The Tatras National Park (TANAP) is situated in the northern part of Slovakia on the frontier with Poland, and with the neighbouring Polish national park, forms a bilateral protected territory. It was declared in 1949, as a result of long term efforts to protect its unique natural features, with its rarely preserved mountain and high mountain ecosystems and unique species of flora and fauna, from growing economic and tourist use. The TANAP has an area of almost 76 thousand hectares and includes Vysoké Tatry, Belianske Tatry and Zapadné Tatry.

Vysoke Tatry (The High Tatras) are the highest mountains in Slovakia and in the whole Carpathian arc. The main ridge measures only 26 km, making the Tatras one of the smallest in area among the high mountain ranges of the world, but at the same time, one of the most beautiful. A large number of features of scenic beauty are concentrated in this small area: high mountain peaks, glaciated valleys, lakes, waterfalls, a varied range of plants and animals. The highest peak is Gerlachovský štít (2655 m).