Hala Długa below Turbacz

Hala Długa is a large mountain glade on the ridge of Turbacz, the highest peak of the Gorce (1,310 m). It stretches from the hut below Turbacz eastwards across the Długa Pass at 1,160–1,270 m and covers 33.77 ha. In fact it is three glades merging into one: Wolnica, Wzorowa and Wierchy Zarębskie. The northern part belongs to the village of Zasadne, the southern part to Łopuszna; the glade lies in the Gorce National Park, which has set up information boards here.

The first glades on the Gorce summits appeared as early as the 14th century thanks to the Vlachs, who brought summit grazing to the Carpathians; later the local highlanders, the Zagórzanie, carried on the tradition. Hala Długa was intensively grazed long after the Second World War, and grazing stopped in the 1990s. To stop the glade from turning into forest and to keep the shepherding culture alive, in 2003 the park reintroduced cultural sheep grazing. In the middle of the glade, below the ridge saddle (1,202 m), stands a shepherd's hut where in season you can taste oscypek cheese and żętyca whey.

Next to the hut rises an iron cross in memory of Albina Białoń, a young girl shot by the Germans on 17 July 1943 while trying to warn partisans. During the war the Turbacz hut and other buildings on the ridge often sheltered partisans. Hala Długa is also a botanical treasure: alpine hawkweed, mountain thyme, stemless carline thistle, mountain avens, alpine meadow-grass, Carpathian soldanella and orchids such as globe orchid, fragrant orchid and common twayblade grow here. The park calls its southern part, Wierchy Zarębskie, the most valuable glade of the whole Gorce National Park for its flora. Birds include the rare water pipit as well as goshawk, sparrowhawk and buzzard. In spring crocuses bloom on the glade.

What to see and do

• The panorama — neighbouring Gorce peaks (Czoło Turbacza, Mostownica, Kudłoń, Jaworzyna Kamienicka, Kiczora, the Lubań range) and further the Island and Sącz Beskids, the Pieniny and the Tatras.
• The shepherd's hut with sheep's cheese and Albina Białoń's cross in the middle of the glade.
• Wierchy Zarębskie — the southern edge of the pasture with the richest flora in the park (from the trail only!).
• The Władysław Orkan PTTK hut (1,283 m) at the edge of Wolnica — the third hut on Turbacz: the first was burned in 1933, the second was set on fire by partisans in 1943.
• In winter a 300 m ski lift runs on the glade (dismantled for summer).

How to get there

The red Main Trail of Beskidy runs along the ridge across the pasture. From the east, from the Knurowska Pass via Kiczora and Polana Gabrowska, it is 8.5 km, 3 h (2 h 05 min back); from Gorc via Jaworzyna and Trzy Kopce 10.4 km, 2 h 50 min. From Koninki (Poręba Wielka), from the car park at the chairlift, the trail via Suchy Groń and Czoło Turbacza reaches Turbacz in about 2 h 30 min (1 h 50 min down). Trails to Turbacz also lead from Nowy Targ — via Bukowina Miejska and Bukowina Waksmundzka — and from Łopuszna. From Polana Gabrowska the trail Grywałd – Polana Gabrowska also comes up to the pasture. All are ordinary moderate mountain hikes of 5–7 hours there and back, without exposed sections.

Season and safety

Most of the pasture lies in the Gorce National Park: as of October 2026 a ticket costs 10 zł (reduced 5 zł) per day, sold at eparki.pl and at sales points; trail sections along the park boundary, including the red ridge trail from Stare Wierchy to Turbacz, are free. The park recommends walking from dawn to dusk, drones are banned without the director's permission, and dogs are allowed only on designated trails — the red Main Beskid Trail is one of them. The best time is May (crocuses), June–July (flowers) and October (colourful forests and long views of the Tatras). The GOPR number is 985 or 601 100 300.

Nearby

From the pasture you can see the neighbouring Gorce glades; the trail Szczebel – Turbacz – Kowaniec crosses the Turbacz summit and descends to Nowy Targ, and the trail Brzeźnica – Kacwin leads over Turbacz south towards the Pieniny. Close by to the east is Polana Jaworzyna Kamienicka.

Official website: gpn.gov.pl

Photos: Jakub Hałun, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons; Jakub Hałun, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons; Jerzy Opioła, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons; Krzysztof Dudzik-Górnicki (User:ToSter), CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons.