Slovakia's High Tatras mountains are beginning to attract skiers from further than just Central Europe.

Slovak airline Danube Wings launched direct flights from London, Manchester and Dublin to the heart of Slovakia’s Tatras Mountains at Poprad-Tatry yesterday.

The flights will take skiers to within just 15 minutes’ drive of the ski slopes of Slovakia’s High Tatras Mountains and around 50 minutes’ drive from the country’s biggest resort of Jasna in the Low Tatras. Flights departing from London are at Luton Airport, and all return flights cost about €158 (£140).

Slovakia has a long heritage of attracting tourists from neighbouring countries and from its own domestic market but it is a relatively unknown destination for British skiers. Hotels are predominantly four star, date back to the Austro-Hungarian era and offer high standard accommodation following recent modernizations.  Prices tend to be about a third lower than more well-known European destinations.

Jasna is the site of one of the largest ski construction projects this season, with the opening of the new €13 million eight-passenger Grand Brhliska gondola lift.

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