NATIONAL PARKS IN PREŠOV REGION • There are 180 protected territories in the Prešov region, two protected landscape areas and five national parks. • National parks: ● Tatra National Park - TANAP ● Pieniny National Park- PIENAP ● Poloniny National Park ● Low Tatras National Park - NAPANT ● Slovak Paradise National Park • Protected landscape areas: ● Vihorlat Protected Landscape Area ● Eastern Carpathian Mountains Protected Landscape Area Tatra National Park • The highest peak in Slovakia, Gerlachovský štít (2,655 m) is situated in the park • The park offers 600 km of hiking trails and 16 marked and maintained bike trails • There are more than 170 mountain lakes of glacier origin, mountain waterfalls and caves • It is the oldest national park in Slovakia and it was established in 1949 • In 1993, the National Park became a part of the UNESCO World Heritage Pieniny National Park • It is the smallest national park in Slovakia with an area of 37.5 km² • The park was founded on 16 January 1967 • It is famous for its natural beauty, especially the Dunajec River Gorge, which is a popular rafting and hiking location. The park offers traditional folklore and architecture, especially the village of Červený Kláštor with the Museum of National Culture Poloniny National Park • Selected areas of the park are included into Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians UNESCO World Heritage Site • Small herd of Europan Bison was reintroduced in the area in 2004 • The territory of National Park has the highest concentration of the natural forests in Slovakia • There are precious wooden churches in Topoľa, Uličské Krivé, and Ruský Potok Low Tatras National Park • It is located between the Váh River and the Hron River valleys • It is the largest national park in Slovakia with an area of 1,102 km² • Four major Slovak rivers rise below the Kráľova hoľa peak: Váh, Hron, Hnilec and Hornád • The park was established in 1978 • he highest peak is Ďumbier (2,043 m) Slovak Paradise National Park • The park offers about 300 km of hiking trails, often equipped with ladders, chains and bridges • The Slovak Pradise contains about 350 caves and Dobšinská Ice Cave is part of UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000 • Rivers and streams have formed many canyons, valleys, caves, and waterfalls in the Slovak Paradise, with the Hornád River being most important to the area • Prielom Hornádu is the longest canyon at 11,7 km, and also contains the greatest diversity of species. The highest waterfall is Závojový vodopád at 70 m Vihorlat Protected Landscape Area • The Landscape Area is situated in the middle part of the Vihorlatské vrchy • It is located in the Humenné, Sobrance and Snina districts • The protected area was established in 1973 to protect the volcanic Vihorlat Mountain range • Species in the area include Lynx, Wildcat, Gray Wolf, Otter, Black Stork, Ural Owl and Eagle • The most extraordinary natural curiosity is the lake Morské Oko Eastern Carpathian Mountains Protected Landscape Area • The park was created in 1977 • The most precious part of the Protected Landscape Area is Natural Reserve Hostovické Meadows, which is know for massive occurrence of the Siberian Iris • The native forest vegetation is suitable for the protected and endangered animals Thank you for your attention Jerguš Greššák, II.B .