Slovakia is a landlocked republic in Central Europe with a population of more than five million. It is a member of the European Union (since May 1, 2004) and borders Czech Republic and Austria in the west, Poland in the north, Ukraine in the east and Hungary in the south. Its capital is its largest city, Bratislava.
In terms of tourism, Slovakia is an up-and-coming European Union country. Tourism and food in Slovakia remains relatively cheap as compared to Western Europe, but prices are currently adapting very quickly to the continental market. Slovakia is particularly noted for its numerous mountain ski resorts, historic cities, caves, wooden churches, national parks and other natural features. Some 40 percent of Slovakia is forested. Slovakia’s forests are home to brown bears, wolves, foxes, wild boars, rabbits, squirrels, weasels, and muskrats. Chamois and lynx can be seen in mountain areas. As one of few good heritages from the former Communist regime, Slovakia features an extraordinarily high percentage of national parks and other protected area spaces. There are hardly any mountain ranges and areas not under some form of protection. One of Slovakia's main tourist attractions are the Tatra Mountains (see Tatra, High Tatras, Vysoké Tatry and Low Tatras for details), the highest part of the Carpathians. They feature many rare plant and animal species and offer numerous ski, mountain walking and mountaineering opportunities. The High Tatras have been a final candidate for the Winter Olympics several times. Slovakia's karst areas offer an extremely high number of caves and their list is being expanded every year due to new discoveries. The number of caves per capita is the highest one or among the highest ones in Europe. Thirteen caves are open to the public, the longest one of which is 9 km long. Some of them have been proclaimed UNESCO's World Heritage Sites. Among them, Ochtinská Aragonite Cave is one of three aragonite caves in the world. Slovakia is also known for its high quality wines and popular beer brands. The most popular wines are those from the Tokaj, Little Carpathians, Nitra, Topoľčany and Záhorie regions. Hubert is a highly rated Slovak sparkling wine brand and “Karpatské Brandy Špeciál” is a popular brandy. Demänovka and Horec are traditional herbal liqueurs. Other popular Slovak aperitifs include slivovic
