Malé Karpaty

Little Carpathians
Little Carpathians near Plavecké Podhradie
Highest point
Peak	Záruby
Elevation	768 m (2,520 ft)
Coordinates	48°31′25″N 17°23′33″E / 48.52361°N 17.39250°E / 48.52361; 17.39250
Geography
Little Carpathians within the geomorphological division of Slovakia
Countries	Slovakia and Austria
Range coordinates	48°25′N 17°15′E / 48.417°N 17.250°E / 48.417; 17.250Coordinates: 48°25′N 17°15′E / 48.417°N 17.250°E / 48.417; 17.250
Parent range	Western Carpathians

The Little Carpathians (also: Lesser Carpathians, Slovak: Malé Karpaty; German: Kleine Karpaten; Hungarian: Kis-Kárpátok) are a low, about 100 km long, mountain range, part of the Carpathian Mountains. The mountains are situated in Western Slovakia, covering the area from Bratislava to Nové Mesto nad Váhom, and northeastern Austria, where a very small part called Hundsheimer Berge (or Hainburger Berge) is located south of the Devín Gate. The Little Carpathians are bordered by Záhorie Lowland in the west and the Danubian Lowland in the east.

In 1976, the Little Carpathians were declared a protected area under the name Little Carpathians Protected Landscape Area, covering 646.1 km² (249.5 sq mi). The area is rich in flora and fauna diversity and contains numerous castles, most notably the Bratislava Castle and caves, Driny being the only one open to the public. The three highest mountains are Záruby at 768 m (2,520 ft), Vysoká at 754 m (2,474 ft) and Vápenná at 752 m (2,467 ft).

Geomorphologically, the Little Carpathians belong into the Alps-Himalaya System, the Carpathian Mountains sub-system, its province Western Carpathians and its subprovince the Inner Western Carpathians.