Piecky Gorge

Hrabušice, Píla

At the parking area in the village of Píla, you pay the entrance fee to Slovak Paradise National Park, and if you do not already have it, you can also arrange mountain rescue insurance here.

From the car park, follow the green-marked asphalt road to the Píla, Piecky (545 m) junction. Here, turn left onto the yellow trail, which leads you within a few minutes into the bed of the Pílanka stream. You will follow the streambed, or the bank right beside it, for almost the entire ascent. In this lower part of the gorge, there are hardly any footbridges or ladders. In summer and autumn, the streambed is usually dry. In spring or after heavy rain, good waterproof footwear is very useful, because you will constantly be hopping from one side of the stream to the other over rocks and bits of wood.

This lower part of the gorge is also called Biela dolina, and sometimes Stredné Piecky. That is also the name used for the upper part of the gorge, where Predné Piecky and Zadné Piecky join in.

Piecky Gorge – Great Waterfall

After about 45 minutes, you reach a junction where Zadné Piecky enters the main gorge. Keep left, and after just a few steps the Great Waterfall suddenly appears in front of you, with a ladder on its right-hand side. The sight of the steep rock wall, the tumbling stream, and the tall ladder is sure to impress and make you stop for a few photos. Once you climb the ladder, you will find yourself in a narrow ravine with wooden walkways, without which passage through this section would not be possible. When wet, the walkways can be slippery, so chains have been fixed to the rock in many places for support.

Piecky Gorge – Terrace Waterfall

The walkways anchored into the rock walls lead you beneath the Terrace Waterfall. It is eight metres high, and rather than dropping vertically, the water mostly flows down a sloping rock face. You also pass this waterfall by climbing an angled ladder, which brings you straight onto metal footholds in a narrow ravine. More walkways follow, until you finally leave the last tight section behind, the valley opens up, and you climb the remaining elevation to the Piecky, vrch (940 m) junction.

Descent back to Píla

From here, follow the green trail, first climbing steeply for several dozen metres of elevation, then continue comfortably to the Glac, Malá polana (985 m) junction. Turn right and follow the blue trail for a short while along the edge of the meadow to Malá polana, rázcestie (990 m). Turn right again, and this time follow the red trail, first over gently rolling terrain above the Piecky and Veľký Sokol gorges, and then begin descending to the trail junction at Palc, rázcestie (868 m). Turn right once more and descend on the yellow trail to the village at Píla, Piecky (545 m). From there, you already know the way back to the car park.

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Useful info

Transport

By car: Take the D1 motorway past Poprad, exit at junction 341, and continue toward Spišský Štvrtok and Hrabušice. Drive through Hrabušice and after about five kilometres turn left to the paid parking area on the edge of the village of Píla. By train and bus: Take a train to Poprad, then a local train to Vydrník. From there, buses run to Hrabušice, and in the summer season they continue as far as Píla. Outside the main season, you will have to walk from Hrabušice.

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Itinerary

Píla, Piecky Piecky, vrch (2:00) Glac, Malá polana (2:15) Malá polana, rázcestie (2:25) Palc, rázcestie (3:40) Píla, Piecky (4:05)

Water and refreshments along the way

Píla, water from the stream

Alternatives

• Without a car outside the main season, you have to walk to Píla from Hrabušice, but fortunately you do not have to follow the road the whole way. From Hrabušice, take the red trail to Podlesok (0:25), then follow the green trail partly along the stream and partly on the road to Píla (1:35).
• If you do not need to return to Píla, you can descend to Podlesok and continue from there to Hrabušice. From the Piecky, vrch junction, continue left on the yellow trail and shortly reach Suchá Belá, záver (0:15). Stay on the yellow trail to pod Vtáčím hrbom (0:40), then descend on the red trail to Podlesok (1:40). From there, the red trail continues to Hrabušice (2:05)