The High Tatras contain Gerlachovský štít, the highest peak in the Carpathian Mountains at 2,655 metres.
The High Tatras form the highest part of the Tatras along the border between Slovakia and Poland. Gerlachovský štít is on the Slovak side, within the Carpathian landscape’s glaciated central zone.
The peak’s name refers to Gerlachov, a nearby Slovak village. Its summit requires a mountain guide for most climbers because the route involves exposed scrambling and difficult alpine terrain rather than a simple marked walk.
The High Tatras are relatively compact but contain sharp granite summits, mountain lakes, and valleys shaped by Ice Age glaciers. They are distinct from the Low Tatras, another Slovak range south of the main Tatras. The wider Carpathians arc through Central and Eastern Europe from the Czech Republic toward Romania and Serbia.