When I invite people from abroad to my place I try to show them the best and possibly hidden gems of Poland. Cause a “wow effect”, make the visitors spread a good word about the country, stop wondering where to spend the next holiday and choose Poland. It was my plan this time as well. My friend from France and another one from Sweden (originally from India :)) have already been to Poland before but they either have never hiked in Polish mountains or for a short time.
I had to change it. We decided to go for two days to Tatra mountains. The hike was tiring for them, unexperienced hikers but the views rewarded them enough 🙂 They’re not the only foreigners who ended up loving the Tatras. Katie and Ben from Two Wandering Soles enjoyed it too and you can read about their trip to Kraków and Zakopane here!
Two days in Tatra mountains
Two days in the Tatras – Day 1 – from Kuźnice to Czarny Staw Gąsienicowy and Murowaniec mountain hut
We started our hike from Kuźnice. It can be reached from the center of Zakopane by numerous mini-buses. You can also get there by car but you will need to leave it around 2 km from the trailhead. It’s not allowed to drive the car inside the National Park.
On the first day we wanted to reach Murowaniec mountain hut as a little warm up before a demanding ascend to Kasprowy Wierch on the next day. It isn’t a long hike, it took us less than 3 hours. It was demanding and scary at times though. The stones were wet and slippery, a sound of thunders accompanied us and clouds didn’t seem to be friendly either.
Luckily it rained just a bit and the worst storm didn’t catch us. We reached Murowaniec safely and after lunch we had a short walk to Black Pond Gasienicowy (Czarny Staw Gąsienicowy)
Two days in Tatras: Storm coming…
Two days in Tatras: Defending ourselves from rain 🙂
Two days in Tatras: Black Pond Gasienicowy
Two days in Tatras: Black Pond Gasienicowy
Two days in the Tatras – Day 2 – Kasprowy Wierch – Przełęcz pod Kopą Kondracką – Hala Kondratowa – Kuźnice
The next morning we climbed Kasprowy Wierch (1987 meters). It was a demanding start of the day, the ascent is steep and takes around 1h30 mins. The views are rewarding though and the weather motivated us. From the top of Kasprowy Wierch we took a red trail towards Kondracka Pass (Przełęcz pod Kopą Kondracką). The difficulty of this trail for less experienced hikers is that the trail goes up and down. Once you think there won’t be any more ascents – you find yourself on one 🙂 We went down via Kondratowa Coomb (Hala Kondratowa).
The results of the trip were: eight hurting legs, three sunburned faces, a few blisters on the feet, one lost hat – and four big smiles.
Two days in Tatras: on our way to Kasprowy Wierch
Two days in Tatras: on our way to Kasprowy Wierch
Two days in Tatras: on our way to Kasprowy Wierch
Two days in Tatras: amazing views!
Two days in Tatras: Start of the red trail
Two days in Tatras: brave hikers 🙂
Two days in Tatras: the red trail
Two days in Tatras: fooling around ;))
Two days in Tatras: the red trail
Two days in Tatras: the red trail
Two days in Tatras: after our last ascend!
Two days in Tatras: a look behind after our last ascend. Amazing!
Two days in the Tatras – practical information
If you want to hike in the Tatras on Polish side you need to get to a little town called Zakopane. Most trails start from there. Zakopane can be easily reached by bus from Kraków, which you can’t miss anyway while in Poland. It’s a beautiful city and you need to see if you’re going to enjoy it! Check the below posts to find out more about Kraków:
- 14 Awesome Things To Do in Kraków by Ryan from Treksplorer. I wouldn’t come up with a better list! 🙂
- Melissa from Parenthood & Passports wrote about how she loved and hated the city at the same time – check her post about Kraków to find out why.
Once in Zakopane you have many hiking options, including the one above. Use mapa-turystyczna.pl to plan your hike and check these posts for inspiration:
13 Most Stunning Trails in Polish Mountains
Your first time in the mountains: Where in Poland to go?
If you need accomodation in Zakopane, I reccommend you little houses called Tater Chata. They are cosy, located in the forest but also walking distance from the center of the town. And five minutes from the houses there is a place for fire with amazing mountain view 🙂 Check available dates and prices here.
You can also check other options by clicking the button below.
Find accommodation in Zakopane
If you want to book accomodation in Murowaniec mountain hut you can contact them via the form on their website. Make sure to do it well in advance, it gets busy in the season!
Make sure you know how to prepare for a hike and if you liked this post please use the buttons below and share it on Facebook, Twitter and Google+! Thanks!
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[…] If you have two days for your hike, connect this idea with the previous point, spend the night in Murowaniec mountain hut (their website is in Polish only but try writing them an email if you want to book a room 🙂 ). It’s not very far from there to the peak of Kasprowy Wierch. I did that when my friends from France and Sweden visited me and they enjoyed it 🙂 You can find more pictures in my photo gallery of our two days hike in Tatra mountains. […]
[…] like other amazing places in Poland – check this photogallery of a two days hike in Tatra mountains or sunset on Pilsko mountain. Also check how to prepare for a hike in the […]
[…] super-pro-hiking books soaked during the hike down! I love these shoes and they crossed many trails in Poland, in Italy and the USA with me… but there’s no membrane able to stop loads of snow falling into […]
[…] hiking and where (in Poland) to go for your first time. Check also some amazing mountain views from Tatra Mountains, Bieszczady and Beskidy. Oh and from Italy and the USA too! 🙂 […]
[…] [Dorota] A part of two above described trails – from Kuźnice to Gąsienicowa Coomb and Czarny Staw Gąsienicowy (Black Pond Gąsienicowy) you can also see in my photo gallery from two days trip in the Tatras. […]
A fantastic experience. If I was young again, I would surely include this on my list. I loved visiting this area and long to see Poland again. A fabulous destination
Hi Amanda, thank you for your comment. I hope you’ll be able to visit Poland again! All the best 🙂