The Best of the Polish Tatras in One (Mega) Hike
- Margaux
- 30 minutes ago
- 5 min read
Tatra National Park in Poland has some of the most beautiful hiking in Europe, and it is yet to be discovered by large numbers of international tourists. The area has endless hiking trails, but if you’re only going for a short amount of time, have bad weather in the forecast, or just need to choose one hike, this is the one I would recommend. It encompasses the landmark lake of the region, Morskie Oko, as well as the infamous Five Polish Ponds, and a beautiful valley walk. If you want to see the best of the Polish Tatras in one hike, make it this one! This blog post will outline what to expect on the hike and all my best advice for doing it.
Contents
Getting to the Trailhead from Zakopane
The trailhead of this hike is Palenica Bialczanska, the parking lot where you need to park to start the hike to Morskie Oko. It is very easy to get there by bus. There are numerous shuttle buses that go from the Zakopane central bus station, and they have Morskie Oko signs in them so you know which one to get on. You can’t miss them. The buses also stop at Jaszczurowka and a few other places along the route. If you’re not getting on at the Zakopane bus station, just flag down the bus at your stop.
The first buses in the summer leave from Zakopane central around 6am. It varies depending on the day, and there is no set timetable, as the buses leave when they are full. My best estimate is that every 20 minutes there will be another bus, so you won’t wait long. They fill the buses up completely, so you may be standing or even sitting in the doorway (as I was). This is especially the case if you get on later on the journey. The whole ride is about 30 minutes long.
The bus costs 15 PLN (approx. £3) one-way, and they only accept cash. Normally you pay when you get off the bus.
When you get to the parking lot to start the hike, you will need to pay the National Park entrance fee, which costs 11 PLN (approx. £2.20) for one adult per day, or 45 PLN (approx. £9) for a week. You can buy these online in advance, but in my experience, paying at the Park entrance was very straightforward. You can use cash or card.
Hike Stats
I am quite a fast walker and did this hike in less time than the trail signs predicted, but this is what to expect:
Time: 8 hours
Distance: 29.4km
Elevation gain: 1330m
Section 1: Palenica Bialczanska - Morskie Oko - Czarny Staw pod Rysami
The 8km trail from the parking lot to Morskie Oko is all tarmac. It’s a very easy walk with not much incline (420m elevation gain), but you get beautiful views of the mountains. There are some signposted shortcuts you can take, and these are not paved, but will save you a good amount of time. All along the tarmac road there are porta loos for your convenience.
Prepare to be wowed by the views when you get to Morskie Oko - it is absolutely stunning. In the summer, and especially on weekends, it gets busy, but you will still have uninterrupted views of the lake and mountains surrounding it. I arrived at 8:15am and it was not too crowded yet, the lake was still, and the sun was on it, which made it beautiful.
At Morskie Oko there is a hut with a restaurant, bar, rooms, and toilets. You can refill your water bottle here with tap water for free. Toilets cost 4 PLN (approx. £0.80), but they are really clean.
There is a trail that goes around the lake, and a short one that goes up behind it to Czarny Staw pod Rysami, another lake at the foot of Rysy, the highest mountain in Poland. This one is also absolutely gorgeous and is much less visited than Morskie Oko. Walk back on the other side of Morskie Oko on your way back to the hut. The entire section of this hike took me about 3 hours (not including breaks).
Section 2: Morskie Oko - Dolina Pieciu Stawow Polskich - Czarny Staw Polski
The second section of this hike is the most strenuous. From Morskie Oko, you’ll gain an extra 600m of elevation as you make your way to Dolina Pieciu Stawow Polskich (Valley of the Five Polish Ponds). You will see the turnoff for this trail on your left after about 3 minutes walking back down the tarmac from Morskie Oko.
The incline is steady, but you will get great views of Morskie Oko if you look back. It takes you over the top of one mountain, down a little bit, then over another before the final descent to the next hut: Schronisko PTTK w Dolinie Pięciu Stawów Polskich. It’s not an easy climb, but the views of the Polish Ponds are incredible.
This hut is really nice. It has a restaurant, bar, rooms, kitchen, and toilets. You can fill your bottle up here with tap water for free as well, and toilets again cost 3-4 PLN (approx. £0.80). It’s a great place for a rest right by the lakes.
Once you get there, you can walk around the lakes. There are some trails to small peaks and one to a waterfall. You can decide which one to do, and then return to the hut before the descent. I decided to walk to the third large lake, Czarny Staw Polski, which was gorgeous. It’s much quieter here than at Morskie Oko, and I absolutely loved it.
After this section, including the hike to the third lake, I had been walking for 6.5 hours, 21.2km, and had done a total of 1252m of elevation gain. If you choose to just go to the hut before you descend, it will be approximately a total of 4 hours 50 minutes, 16.4km, and 1114m total elevation gain.
Section 3: Dolina Pieciu Stawow Polskich - Dolina Roztoki - Palenica Bialczanska
From the hut at the Five Polish Ponds, you will start your descent back to the trailhead. The descent through the valley starts steep but then just becomes a steady walk down. It is absolutely stunning with views of trees, rivers, and the mountains behind. Even though I got some rain at this point, I loved this section.
After about an hour, you will rejoin the tarmac road that you started the day on. It’s about 30 minutes from there to the parking lot, where you will exit the National Park and get on a bus back to Zakopane. If you need to get off the bus earlier, tell the driver, and be prepared to shout when it’s your stop. The drivers don’t speak much English, so you need to be confident!
From the hut back to the parking lot brought me to a total of 8 hours 10 minutes walking time, 29.4km, and 1330m total elevation gain. It’s a long day but absolutely worth it - this hike is one of my favourites of all time.
If you want to see the best of the Polish Tatras in one hike, don’t skip this one! I promise you won’t regret it. As always, please look after the places you visit. Take all your rubbish home with you and remember to only leave your footprints behind :)
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