We have already marked hiking trails in the High Tatras from the Slovak side. Here comes the question: “What about visiting the Polish part of the mountains?” And so we decided to go to our northern neighbours. Not so far. Just a little bit over the border towards Lysá Polana. A hike to Szpiglasowy Wierch:
Szpiglasowy Wierch
The weather was favourable, and we could go on a day hike. The decision fell on Hrubý štít, with an altitude of 2 172 metres. It is located on the main ridge of the High Tatras (Liptovské múry) on the state border with Poland. Its long side ridge separates the valley of the Five Polish Plies from the valley of Rybiego Potok. The ascent to the top is officially possible only from the Polish side.
Polish Tatras
We parked the car at the Palenica Bialczańska car park. I recommend buying a parking ticket online in advance. There are also regular minibus lines from Zakopane. There is a ticket office behind the central car park where you must pay a symbolic fee. Entrance to the Polish part of the Tatra National Park is chargeable.
Siklawa
We continued along the asphalt road that led us to the Mickiewicza waterfalls. Here two valleys meet, and we had the opportunity to choose which one to follow. We chose the green trail, the Roztoki Valley. We are heading to the most prominent Polish waterfall Siklawa.
Its height is about 65 metres. We take a few photos and continue along the blue around the deepest and second-largest lake in the Tatras, Wielki Staw Polski. Monumental granite peaks tower above the valley, and areas of black brush create a beautiful scenery together with the water surface of the lakes. We can already see the saddle where we are heading in front of us. From the valley, we move to the Szpiglasowy saddle.
The last 20 vertical metres we have to climb with a chain. From here, it is only 15 minutes to top.
Szpiglasowy Wierch
And we are at the top. Here we saw the beauty of the Tatra peaks. The views are among the most beautiful we have ever seen. We watch the whole panorama with bated breath. From the top, we can see into three valleys at once. To the one we passed, then to the one that still awaits us on the way back (Rybiego Potoku Valley) and the Temnosmrečinská Valley. We take pictures and film everything so that we don’t miss anything. After a short refreshment, we will go down. We walk down the beautiful path and enjoy the trip.
Morskie Oko
The descent ends on the asphalt road near the PTTK Chalet above Morskie Oko. It is notorious sight because many tourists visit the High Tatras to see it. There were countless tourists in and around the hut. Therefore, we stayed briefly and continued. After a 10-hour hike, we happily returned to the parking lot.
The hike to Szpiglasowy Wierch was nutritious and a full day’s walk. Once again, we did something for our fitness. In the High Tatras, we always recharged positive energy.
