The best in Poland: Tatras [TRIPS]

All of the mountain trails described below are within Tatra National Park. Established in 1954, it covers 21,164 hectares and attracts 2-2.5 million visitors every year. As in all national parks, you may not stray off, litter or spoil nature in any way. All the paths are well-marked and there are many wayside maps and signs placed along them to help you get your bearings.

Zakopane

The capital of Tatras and Podhale, Zakopane is also Poland's highest town (730-1000 m above sea level). It became fashionable in the late 19th century, attracting many writers, poets, painters and sculptors, who contributed to its extraordinary atmosphere by designing fine villas and creating works of art inspired by local traditions.

Because of the town's location and build-up, you can't see the mountains from every place - sometimes they are concealed. The most prominent of them is Mt. Giewont, the most characteristic peak in the Tatras.

Life and action in Zakopane focus on the pedestrianized Krupówki. Following a fire in the late 19th century, many old wooden buildings along it were replaced by stone houses. Inevitably, the street lost some of its charm in the process, but it continues to be the most popular place in Zakopane, attracting lively, multinational crowds at any time of the year. Lined with shops, restaurants, cafes, pubs and souvenir stalls, it offers everything you may need, from sports equipment, designer clothes and sturdy walking boots to salty sheep-milk cheeses called oscypki and other regional food. If you like, you can even have your portrait or caricature made here quickly by a street artist.

Worth seeing points on Krupówki: Tatra Museum (Krupówki st., 10) presents local wildlife, geology and ethnography, 1896 neo-Roman Church of the Holy Family (lower Krupówki).

Many visitors simply stick to Krupówki, taking only the obligatory funicular ride to the top of Mt. Gubałówka. However, try also to have a walk along ulica Kościeliska. This is the original centre of Zakopane, once a shepherds' settlement. From the 16th century onwards highlander families built their homesteads here, followed by the first church, shop, restaurant, hotel and cemetery. Some sections of ul. Kościeliska look like a live museum as many of its timber houses are true masterpieces of local architecture.

Worth seeing points on ul. Kościeliska: 1847 wooden Church of Our Lady of Częstochowa and Old Cemetery where many eminent people are buried.

Funicular to Mt. Gubałówka

If you don't fancy strenuous hikes, you can still enjoy superb views from mountain summits by taking a ride on the funicular to Mt. Gubałówka or the cable car to Kasprowy Wierch; both run all year round.

Mt. Gubałówka is low (1120 m), gently sloping and extensively developed, its wide crest occupied by a cafe, restaurant, souvenir stalls and a shop renting out deck chairs and skis. In winter it teems with skiers, but the funicular is great fun at any time of the year. Along the rails runs a path for those who prefer to conquer the summit in a more ambitious way. A viewing terrace on the top offers a panorama of Zakopane and surrounding villages set against the spectacular backdrop of the Tatras.

At the foot of Mt. Gubałówka, just outside the lower funicular station, stretches a large market place, where you can buy sheepskin coats, woollen sweaters, regional leather shoes, an assortment of leather and wooden decorations as well as sheep milk products, including the ubiquitous oscypki.

A trip to Kasprowy Wierch and Hala Gąsienicowa

Opened in 1936, the cable car to the top of Kasprowy Wierch (1987 m) allows you to enjoy without much effort a truly alpine panorama, rated among the most scenic in the Tatras. The lower station is in Kuźnice, a southern suburb of Zakopane. The queues are always tremendous, so turn up as early in the morning as possible.

Gondolas can accommodate 30 people and run every 10 minutes. You have to change at Myślenickie Turnie and the whole ride - 4291m long, with a 936m ascent - takes about 20 minutes.

From Kasprowy Wierch you can go down on foot. There are several options, but the most scenic one is the red trail to the Sucha Pass (about 3 min) and the Liliowe Pass (over the peak of Beskid, 2021 m), from where a green and then yellow trail descends to the Murowaniec hostel in Hala Gąsienicowa (about 1 hour). On your way you pass a number of glacial lakes.

If it's not late and you have enough stamina, you can make a short detour from Murowaniec to Czarny Staw Gąsienicowy (1620 m). A blue-marked path veering to the right through dwarf mountain pines will take you there in about 30 minutes. Situated at the foot of the east face of Mt. Kościelec, it is one of the biggest Tatra lakes, with an area of 17.8 ha (including the island) and depth of 51 m. It looks most evocative before the noon, illuminated by the sun. You can rest at the shore, viewing the mighty ridges of the Orla Perć and the blueish water teeming with trout.

The way back from Murowaniec to Kuźnice is down the blue trail (1,30h). Its first 15-min. stretch actually goes up, offering you an opportunity to take in a magnificent panorama of Hala Gąsienicowa.

A trip to Morskie Oko

The largest and most scenic lake in the Tatras (35 ha, 50 m deep), Morskie Oko (Eye of the Sea) attracts hordes of tourists every day. The day-long trip combines a car/bus ride with a 9km walk from Palenica Białczańska.

By car you have two options. One is to drive ul. Oswalda Balzera to Zakopane's limits and continue via Jaszczurówka and Zazadnia. On the way make a stop at the postcard-pretty Jaszczurówka Chapel, designed by Stanisław Witkiewicz in the Zakopane Style. Built between 1905 and 1907 from spruce wood without using a single nail, it is a masterpiece of the region's architecture.

The other approach is through Poronin, Bukowina, Głodówka and Łysa Polana (which is a border crossing to Slovakia). Here you can stop at Głodówka for a breathtaking panorama of the Tatras, especially on your way back from Morskie Oko, as the views are best at sunset. After an eventful day, you can have a well-deserved dinner at the local restaurant.

Morskie Oko is situated at a height of 1395 m. The lakeside hostel is almost 100 years old and among the most beautiful and most comfortable in the Tatras. It offers both hot meals and accommodation. The panorama of the lake and neighbouring mountains from its terrace is simply bewitching. On the left looms Poland's highest peak, Mt. Rysy (2499 m).

The navy blue waters of Morskie Oko reflect tall Arolla pines, which you can approach by walking a lakeside path. A stroll around the lake takes just 45 min, but is a great excitement.

A trip to the Dolina Kościeliska

One of the most beautiful valleys in the West Tatras, the Kościeliska is always filled with throngs of visitors. The green trail to Hala Ornak that follows its swiftly flowing Potok Kościeliski is actually an almost flat dirt road rather than a mountain path, so it's possible to take even babies in pushchairs there.

Flanked by high, scenic rocks, the dirt road in the valley is punctuated with several wooden or stone bridges and after about 4 km it reaches the wide Polana Pisana, where you can have a short rest. Just beyond this spot, a yellow loop trail branches off to the left, leading to the staggering Kraków Gorge. The trail follows only its first, most narrow section and then turns sharply left up a metal ladder, but you won't miss much as the rest of the gorge is far less impressive.

At Polana Pisana the dirt road gives way to a less comfortable uphill path strewn with stones, which leads to Hala Ornak. There you can have a simple meal in a stylish wooden hostel, enjoying a view of Mt. Bystra (2248 m), the highest peak in the West Tatras, and the massif of Ornak (1863 m). Just before the hostel, a black trail veers left and up to Smreczyński Staw (1227 m; about 30 min one way).

A trip to the Dolina Chochołowska

The biggest valley in Polish Tatras, the Chochołowska is even more attractive than the Dolina Kościeliska. the pleasant 8 km walk to the hostel at Polana Chochołowska is perfectly feasible for both young children and elderly people.

You hike along the Chochołowski Potok, which glides overshadowed by spruce-covered hills and high cliffs. Except for two short stretches, the walk is rather flat. Roughly an hour from the start a vast panorama of Polana Chochołowska opens up.

Source: Poland - an ilustrated guidebook. For more information look at Pascal

See more pictures of Tatra Mountains

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