Slovak Paradise National Park, National park in eastern Slovakia
Slovak Paradise is a national park in eastern Slovakia with limestone formations that have shaped deep gorges, waterfalls, and underground caves. The area is covered by dense spruce forests and crossed by more than 300 kilometers of marked hiking trails.
The first protected reserve here was founded in 1890, and the edelweiss became the first protected plant in 1936. The name Slovenský raj appeared in 1921 in Krásy Slovenska magazine. On 21 August 1964 the area became Slovakia's first protected landscape area, and it was recategorized as a national park on 18 January 1988.
The name Slovenský raj appeared in 1921 in the magazine Krásy Slovenska, replacing earlier names for the area. The only tourist centre inside the park is Kláštorisko, where ruins of a Carthusian monastery stand. The most visited sites are the Dobšiná Ice Cave and the Suchá Belá gorge.
The park has about 300 km of marked hiking trails, many fitted with ladders, chains and bridges. The northern centres Čingov and Podlesok are linked by a 15 km route through the Hornád canyon. Sturdy footwear is needed for the narrow gorges and steep passages.
Dobšiná Ice Cave has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Caves of Aggtelek Karst and Slovak Karst" since 2000. Of the roughly 350 caves in the park, it is the only one open to the public. The park's first protected plant, declared in 1936, was the edelweiss.
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