There is something about mountain lakes. Their beauty, peacefulness and remoteness have always fascinated me. I love the bright ever-changing turquoise-blue colors and the mirror-like reflection of the mountains. One of the reasons I love hiking in the Tatra mountains in Poland is the abundance of these stunning mountain lakes. Without further ado I would like to present 4 amazing day hikes in the Tatra mountains in Poland taking you past the most beautiful lakes, but also flower valleys, waterfalls and wooden churches.
Tatra day hike 1: Kasprowy Wierch, Valley of the Lakes
This is a beautiful day hike (probably my favorite) taking you through the Valley of Polish Lakes. It starts with a cable car up to Kasprowy Wierch. Kasprowy Wierch is about 2000 meters and may still be covered in snow! From Kasprowy Wierch you take the yellow, black and blue trail, which takes you past the Zielony Staw Gąsienicow (the green pond), over a high mountain ridge with beautiful views and then Czarny Staw Gąsienicowy (the black pond) and Zmarzły Staw Gąsienicowy (the frozen pond). At the frozen pond there is also a small waterfall. The beautiful Murowaniec hut is a good place to stop by for lunch. The offer and quality of (vegetarian) food were a bit low during our visit unfortunately.
- Start: Kasprowy Wierch
- End: Kasprowy Wierch ground cable car station / Kuźnice
- Duration: about 6-7 hours inc breaks (we did a slightly different variation of the map below, but this one is better and shorter)
- Difficulty: easy-moderate (mostly downhill)
- Lunch break: Murowaniec hut
Please note: Our original plan was to do a two (or maybe three) day hike past the five big lakes in the Tatras. However, all mountains huts were fully booked and the higher passes were still covered in a thick layer of snow. So, we had no other option than to divide our hike in day hikes. As you can see on the map the paths behind Zmarzły Staw Gąsienicowy are going much higher and steeper, so we had to stop (no crampons with us). If you are going in summer (July/August) you could maybe continue and combine it with the second hike of this article. It’d be good to sleep at Dolina Pięciu Stawów in this case.
Tip: A bus goes to the ground cable car station from the Zakopane train station (and there is also bus taking you back).
Tatra day hike 2: Valley of the Lakes
Another favorite in this overview of day hikes in the Tatra mountains in Poland! This hike starts at the Morskie Oko parking place and will also take you through the other part of the Valley of Polish Lakes. The hike starts going through a bit of forest. After about 2 hours you come across an impressive waterfall and 20-30 minutes later you will reach Wielki Staw. Wielki Staw is the deepest lake in the Tatra National Park (80 meters) and lies 1665 meters above sea level. The Dolina Pięciu Stawów is a good place for a cup of tea. Taking the blue path down, you will reach Morskie Oko, meaning Eye of the Sea. This is the most accessible and thus busiest of all lakes. It’s famous for the ever-changing color of the water. The Morskie Oko hut is excellent (on a previous trip I even had the privilege to sleep here) with a beautiful view. From the hut, you hike back down on an asphalt road to the parking lot.
- Start: Morskie Oko Parking lot
- End: Morskie Oko Parking lot
- Duration: about 8 hours inc breaks
- Difficulty: easy-moderate
- Lunch break: Dolina Pięciu Stawów hut or Morskie Oko hut
Tatra day hike 3: Dolina Chochołowska
This hike in the western Tatras is famous for its accessibility (bike-friendly, dog-friendly, family-friendly) and crocus flowers. The Dolina Chochołowska is the largest and longest valley in the Tatras and is absolutely stunning. We cycled the first bit, parked our bikes against a tree and walked the final bit. The Schronisko PTTK na Polanie Chochołowskiej is an excellent place to have lunch with a large menu. Don’t miss the small, beautiful church near the mountain hut. If you have time, you could obviously hike further up and do a loop back via the red trail for example.
Because of its beauty and accessibility we were warned that I could be very busy (especially in the weekends). It was definitely busy compared to our other Tatra hikes, but not too crowded in our opinion. An absolute highlight of this day the sighting of a beautiful family of bears. We did not expect this at all (especially not on this hike) and will never forget it. It was my first time to spot bears in the wild. They basically minded their own business and were busy eating.
- Start: One of the Dolina Chochołowska parking lots (there are several private parking lots, most offering a toilet and bicycle hire)
- End: Dolina Chochołowska parking lots
- Duration: about 4 hours inc breaks and cycling
- Difficulty: very easy
- Lunch break: Schronisko PTTK na Polanie Chochołowskiej
- Tip: Bring some cash money for the parking lots and the entrance fee
Tatra day hike 4: Mount Giewont
Mount Giewont is the symbol of Zakopane and the Tatras and therefore a popular hike. It’s the highest peak in the Western Tatras (1894 meters). It will take about 2 of moderate steep uphill hiking to reach the steel cables which will lead you to the top. In my opinion, the steel cables were not really needed in summer, because they were loosely anchored, but with snow/ice I can imagine they are useful. Just before and around the top it can be quite busy. Still, the top is an excellent place to enjoy the view and have a snack. We took a different road down which led us through the absolutely gorgeous Dolina Małej Łąki. Please note that the Mount Giewont trails can become very slippery when it’s wet.
- Start: Parking place at the droga pod reglami
- End: Parking place at the droga pod reglami
- Duration: about 6-7 hours inc breaks
- Difficulty: moderate
- Lunch break: There are no huts on this route (!)
More photos of our day hikes in the Tatra Mountains
Don’t forget to read this Guide to hiking the Tatra Mountains with tips and tricks
Check out my Poland trip Instagram stories here (and feel free to give me a follow)
I visited the Tatra Mountains partially in collaboration with Małopolska Organizacja Turystyczna and Polish Tourism Organisation. Views and opinions remain my own.
