E3 in Eastern Slovakia: Comments

I have divided the E3 in Eastern Slovakia into three aspects, first the cities.

Košice is not on the trail but you might use it as a regional transport and supply hub. The city has an attractive centre, well worth a visit. Prešov is on the trail, a smaller city than Košice it also has an old centre with restaurants, churches and attractive architecture. A good place for rest and resupply.

Secondly, sections of the trail are through the lowlands, especially in the south. These often follow quiet roads. Fields of crops form the scenery and there are villages with welcome shops where you can buy a drink and ice cream.

Then there are the mountain sections, which form most of the route. These are forested typically with beech trees. Although the mountains are not that high, only a few peaks exceed a thousand metres above sea level, there is a lot of climbing up and down from summit to summit, usually over a thousand metres each day. Villages are at the bottom of valleys so once in the mountains you will not be able to buy food and the lack of accommodation means wild camping will be needed. There was one mountain hut on the route where I enjoyed lunch, but check openning times. By the village of Herl'any the E3 gives you alternatives. Either go through the village using the blue route to the south and the green trail to the north, or stay on the red waymarks and miss out the village. Herl'any has a Geyser erupting every 36 hours, a pizzeria and a "buffet", which is a bar selling drinks and snacks. Points of interest on the mountainous parts of the E3 in Slovakia include a couple of ruined castles, a First World War cemetery and a monument to a Second World War battle.

Where the E3 follows the border between Slovakia and Poland the trail literally follows the stones marking the international boundary. The route goes straight up and down mountains with some very steep sections. Unless you leave the ridge for accommodation and food you will need to wild camp and carry five days or so of food from the last shop in Slovakia at Terna. Water sources are scarce so you will need to carry plenty and have marked the location of springs when planning. This means a lot of weight to carry up and down steep slippery slopes. I did not reach the end of this section but do not imagine it changes much. If ever I repeated this part I would next time include deviations off the trail for accommodation and variety. The rain and mist probably did not help my appreciation of the route.

Fingerposts beneath metal umbrellas are very useful, they refer to the E3 and give timings to upcoming destinations. However be warned, I found the times given were optimistic. There are also frequent waymarks consisting of three horizontal stripes, white, a colour, and white again.

The start of my blog on my walk through Eastern Slovakia is here.

The start of my blog on my walk along the E3 is here.

A signpost for the E3 and other trails.

You will see a lot of trees on the trail.