Tatra Fairies – Žabie plesá

A FOLKTALE ABOUT A FAIRY

One swain from Štrba got engaged to a young girl, as beautiful as a rose. But when he urgently had to go to Poland for salt, he gave his future bride his ring as a sign of fidelity, and at the same time a bud from a Tatra rose, proving that before the flower withers, he will certainly return. The girl waited longingly for her fiancé, days and months passed, the rose withered, but the fiancé did not come back. He was rumored to have killed himself in the Tatras. She, too, desperately faded like a flower. She set out to find him across the Mengusovská valley. When she saw the rose bud, she thought that maybe her beloved left it for her there as a sign. As soon as she touched it, she turned into a fairy, who took on the beauty of all the Tatra roses, because since then no rose has blossomed in the Tatras. Although, at times when looking into the valley, it might seem that some may be blooming there, it is just a fairy singing lovely songs in the distance.

Therefore, carefully before her lure, during the hike, which is only a few steps away in the Mengusovská valley.

HIKING TIP

From Mountain hotel Popradské pleso head to Mengusovská dolina, to a junction Rázcestie nad Žabím potokom. Above the forest you‘ll have wonderful views of the valley.