Travel guide - National parks - accommodation in hotels and apartments

Slovakia can be regard as a nature preserve of Central Europe. It is a land of alluvial forests, steppes, semi-steppes and intensively cultivated soil, a country of foothills and mountains and great many peat bogs as well as salt marshes and dead branch waters. It is a beautiful country of torrents, abundant in forests, meadows, and rock formations. There is a whole world of underground caves, lakes, and subterranean rivers. These wonders are enlivened and embellished by many sparse relic and endemic plant and animal species, which rank among the jewels of European nature. The folk in this territory has created an original national culture of colorful folk costumes, unique folk architecture which is in harmony with the natural splendours.
In order to preserve all these sights and beauties for the future, it is necessary to protect the important parts of Slovak Nature as well as to deepen the scientific knowledge of nature and its laws and get familiar with the natural resources of this territory. Slovak nature with its biological and aesthetic values offers conditions particularly suitable for recreation, traveling and tourism. However, not always do we match our interests with the conservation principles.
Protection and improvement of valuable parts of nature is an extremly demanding and complex task. We live in the world of unprecedented technical and scientific boom, the outcome of which is a frequent collision of conservation activities with the civilising factors. Therefore, it is essential to search continuously for harmony of all diversified interests, and consider the natural wealth from the viewpoint of social priorities and solve them so as to avoid devastation aof nature.
Following to examples of the Swiss, German and Austrian nature reserves, Slovakia established the first state protected nature reserves in the late 19th century. In 1900 the Hungarian Ministry of Tillage issued a provision for mandatory registration of memorable trees and other scenic wonders and their protection by the state. This gave rise to creation of a whole network of protected nature reserves throughout the country. Prior to establishing the Checho-Slovak Republic these were, however, only the first steps in the territorial nature protection. Apart from a section of the present Tatran National Park, only five protected state reserves have been preserved from this period, also two study areas protected by the state and several regionally protected natural formations and fenomena.
In order to meet these tasks the state provides for particular protection of important areas, natural formations, scenic wonders as well as sparse plant and animal species, minerals and fossils by protecting them and also by outlining methods and conditions of this protection.
The law also defines the respective categories of protected territories with regard to their natural values, it outlined and measure of strictness of their protection in the centre and the outer protective zone. Thus the law provided for a starting point in selection of protected areas and enabled their social utilization which does not devastate the nature as a whole and its unique wealth.
National Parks (NP) cover mostly extensive areas of wilderness or nature almost free of human intervention. These are of exceptional cultural and scientific importance and they are valuable also from the climatic, water resource, health and recreation viewpoints. Apart from this, the parks are a source of information to the visitors.
The national parks are created by the government. Nature protection is the most important criterion for any activity to be undertaken within such area.
Five National Parks have been proclaimed so far within the territory of Slovakia: Tatran National Park (TANAP), Pieniny National Park (PIENAP), Low Tatras National Park (NAPANT), Slovensky Raj (Slovak Paradise) National Park (NAPASR), Mala Fatra (the Smaller Fatra) National Park (NAPAMF).

There are 87 protected and 8 partially protected species in Slovakia. Other species are under special protection of Tatran National Park. There are 157 protected animal species, 47 families and two genera. All must be protected not only due to their decrease in number and rare occurence, but also due to them being a valuable resource of the ecosystem reproduction and factors maintaining the nature balance.