ABSTRACT: This article evaluates the application of chloride as a conservative tracer in the assessment of groundwater recharge in mountainous basins in northern Slovakia. The results obtained on the catchment scale for the upper Váh river basin are close to those from baseflow separation determined by the Chapman graphic filter. Calculated recharge is feasible for most of the 315 selected groundwater sources, particularly the springs. We conclude that chloride is useful for rapid assessment of long-term groundwater recharge at the regional level in the climatic conditions of Slovakia when assumptions and uncertainties contained in the method are considered.