Czarny Staw pod Rysami

A stern lake below Poland's highest peak

Czarny Staw pod Rysami (the Black Lake below Rysy) lies in a glacial cirque of the Rybi Potok Valley, directly above Morskie Oko. The lake is almost circular and sits at 1,583 m — 188 m higher than Morskie Oko. It covers about 20.6 ha and is up to 76.4 m deep: the second deepest lake in the Tatras and the fourth deepest in Poland. Czarny Staw is also the southernmost lake in the country.

The name is apt: shadows from the high walls and cyanobacteria in the water make it dark, almost black. Above the water rises the 576 m wall of Kazalnica, and the cirque is framed by Mięguszowiecki Szczyt Czarny, Rysy, Niżnie Rysy and the Żabia Grań ridge. The lake is poor in nutrients: attempts to stock it with trout from Morskie Oko, begun as early as 1883, never succeeded. In summer the water warms only to 7–11.5 °C, and the lake usually freezes as early as October–November. 19th-century poets called it the gloomiest pond in the Polish Tatras, while the Hungarian mountaineer Mór Déchy called it the most beautiful lake scenery in the whole range.

What to see

• The iron cross on the rock threshold — cast from Tatra iron at Kuźnice and set up here in 1836; from here you look down on Morskie Oko.
• Czarnostawiańska Siklawa — the cascades by which Czarny Staw's water tumbles from the threshold towards Morskie Oko.
• The view of Rysy (2,499 m) — Poland's highest peak, reached from here by the red trail.
• Roches moutonnées — glacier-polished rocks forming the threshold that dams the lake.

The lake has long attracted scientists: in 1804 Stanisław Staszic measured its depth and water temperature, and the first winter visit was made on 31 December 1910.

Practical information

Getting there. First you need to reach Morskie Oko: about 8 km on asphalt from Palenica Białczańska (around 2.5 hours according to TPN), or partly by TPN e-bus to the Włosienica clearing. From the hut at Morskie Oko the red trail runs along the eastern shore and climbs steeply up stone steps to the threshold: about 50 minutes up and 40 minutes down. This is a proper mountain path with big steps — not suitable for pushchairs, but manageable for school-age children and people of ordinary fitness. Including the road to Morskie Oko, allow at least 8–9 hours for the day.

Parking and transport. The TPN car parks at Palenica Białczańska and Łysa Polana admit only cars with an e-ticket bought in advance on the TPN website (36–75 zł online); it is best to arrive before 8:00. The TPN ticket costs 11 zł.

Safety. Beyond the lake the trail to Rysy is a high-mountain route with chains, for experienced hikers only (about 3 hours up). As of 23 October 2026 TPN reports fresh snow and ice above the tree line and, because of a rockfall near Mięguszowiecki Szczyt, advises particular care on the way to Przełęcz pod Chłopkiem. In winter the slopes above Morskie Oko are prone to avalanches. From 1 March to 30 November trails may not be used between dusk and dawn; dogs and drones are banned in TPN.

Nearby

• Morskie Oko — just below the threshold.
• Wodogrzmoty Mickiewicza — on the road from Palenica.
• Wielki Staw Polski — in the neighbouring Valley of Five Lakes.

Official website: tpn.gov.pl

Photos: Marcel Maslyk, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons; Cybularny, CC0, Wikimedia Commons; kallerna, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons; Chris Olszewski, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons; Guntars Mednis, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons.