National parks

The natural landscape of the Prešov region is very varied with most of this second largest region in Slovakia being hilly in character. The region is bisected by an important boundary between  the Western and Eastern Carpathians. Of the many mountains and hills in the region, we should mention the Tatras, Pieniny, Spišská Magura, the Levočské hills, Čergov, the Šariš uplands, the Košice basin, the Slanské hills, the Ondavská uplands, the Laborecká uplands, the Bukovské hills and the Vihorlat hills.

In terms of its natural landscape the Prešov region is one of the most precious in Slovakia.

The region is

• home to the oldest national park in Slovakia (1949) the Tatran National Park (TANAP), which since 1993 has also been a biospheric reservation,
• as well as Pieniny National Park (PIENAP), the oldest international natural park in Europe,
• and Poloniny National Park, the primeval forests of which are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.