Tucked away in the wild Žabia Javorová Valley of the Slovak High Tatras, Mały Żabi Staw Jaworowy is one of those rare alpine lakes that tourism has barely touched. Sitting at 1,704 m above sea level, this small crescent-shaped tarn surrounded by high-mountain meadows and scree fields is about as untamed as the Tatras get.

The lake is modest in size — just 0.19 hectares, 100 metres long and 3 metres deep — but its setting is anything but ordinary. In summer, the surrounding alpine grasslands glow with green, while scree slopes creeping in from the east are slowly but surely reshaping the shoreline. Winter avalanches from the Javorové Vrchy ridges leave snow deposits that often linger here well into midsummer, so don't be surprised to find snowfields in July. The lake's outflow, the Žabi Potok Jaworowy stream, feeds into the Javorinka river below.

• Important: there is no official hiking trail leading to this lake. The entire Žabia Javorová Valley is a strictly protected zone of the TANAP national park — entry without a permit is prohibited.

• The Žabia Javorová Valley falls under the strict protection zone of TANAP (Tatra National Park, Slovakia).
• Access is only permitted with an official TANAP authorisation — independent entry is forbidden.
• Snow patches near the lake can persist until mid-summer due to winter avalanche deposits.

The scree slowly encroaching from the east is gradually filling in the lake — a natural process that will one day transform this spot entirely. It's a reminder that even the most timeless-looking landscapes are always quietly changing.