Hala Ornak

Hala Ornak is a former shepherds' pasture in the upper part of the Kościeliska Valley in the Western Tatras, inside the Tatra National Park (TPN). It covered the lower part of the Pyszniańska Valley and the grassy eastern slopes of Mount Ornak. The heart of the pasture was two glades at about 1,100 m: Wielka Polana Ornaczańska below Ornak and Mała Polanka Ornaczańska, where the PTTK hut "Na Hali Ornak" stands today.

The name is a folk one: according to local tradition it comes from the highlander word "oreł", an eagle, which supposedly once lifted a seven-year-old boy into the air and dropped him. The shepherds of this pasture were called "ornacany". At first the pasture belonged to highlanders from the village of Ciche; later, through inheritance, it was split among residents of many Podhale villages. On Wielka Polana Ornaczańska, also known as Szałasiska, there were huts and sheds and the grass was mown; on the slopes above the glade iron-ore mines operated in the 18th century. Altogether the Kościeliska Valley had nine pastures with up to 3,000 sheep and several hundred cattle.

Hala Ornak lost its shepherds earlier than other Tatra glades: the whole Pyszniańska Valley was declared the strict nature reserve "Tomanowa – Smreczyny" (formally in 1936 and 1948), and grazing ended in 1957. Since then the former pastures have been overgrown with forest and dwarf pine: in 1955 Wielka Polana covered about 9 ha, and by 2004 it had shrunk by roughly 79%. Only the upper parts of Ornak remain grassy. All around stretches a large strictly protected spruce forest, a refuge for wildlife. In the mid-20th century the slopes of the pasture were also a popular ski-run area.

What to see and do

• Mała Polanka Ornaczańska (1,095–1,110 m) — a flat glade surrounded by forest above the Pyszniański stream, with views of Błyszcz and the Liliowe and Siwe Turnie crags.
• The "Na Hali Ornak" hut — a Zakopane-style building from 1947–1948, successor of the old hut on Hala Pyszna that the Germans burned during the Second World War. In 1973 it was named after the geologist Professor Walery Goetel. Its windows look out on Kominiarski Wierch, Bystra and Błyszcz.
• Wielka Polana Ornaczańska — inside the strict reserve, so you cannot walk across it; its lower edge is visible from the yellow trail to the Iwaniacka Pass.
• Smreczyński Staw Lake — 30 minutes along the black trail from the hut.

How to get there

The walk starts in Kiry (927 m), part of Kościelisko, reached from Zakopane by buses and minibuses; there are paid car parks in front of the valley entrance. Then follow the green trail Kiry – Hala Ornak (Kościeliska Valley) along the valley floor — 5.5 km, about 1 h 35–40 min up and about the same back. The road is almost flat, so it is an easy walk suitable for children. Cars and bicycles are not allowed in the valley, but in summer you can ride a highlander horse cart (a sleigh in winter) to Polana Pisana, from where the hut is another half-hour walk. From the pasture the trails continue as Iwaniacka Pass – Hala Ornak (1 h 15 min to the pass, then on to the Chochołowska Valley) and Hala Ornak – Tomanowy Potok (1 h 30 min to the Rozdroże w Tomanowej junction and on to the Czerwone Wierchy).

Season and safety

The valley is part of the TPN, so entry is paid: as of October 2026 a ticket costs 11 zł, reduced 5.50 zł, and children under 7 enter free. From 1 March to 30 November walking the trails between dusk and dawn is forbidden, dogs may not be brought into the park, and leaving the trails into the strict protection zone is not allowed. The Kościeliska Valley is one of the busiest places in the Tatras, so in season it is best to set out early. In winter the road to the hut is accessible, but the higher trails to Ornak and the Czerwone Wierchy require winter experience; the TOPR rescue number is 601 100 300 or 985.

Nearby

Nearby are the Mroźna Cave in the Kościeliska Valley, the peaks Bystrá and Krzesanica, and beyond the Iwaniacka Pass lies Polana Chochołowska.

Official website: tpn.gov.pl

Hala Pyszna — the protected pasture valley beyond Ornak

Above Hala Ornak, at the head of the Kościeliska Valley (the Pyszniańska Valley), lies the former Hala Pyszna – one of the most important centres of shepherding in the Tatras. It included the Niżnia and Wyżnia Pyszna glades and Młyniska; the name comes from the highland word "pyszna", meaning lush, because the grass here was especially rich. From 1655 sheep were grazed here by the people of Klikuszowa, and the local "bruski" cheeses were considered the best in the Tatras. At the beginning of the 20th century the land was bought by Count Władysław Zamoyski, and grazing was abolished in 1927; in 1947 the first strict nature reserve in the Tatras was created here (today the strict-protection zone "Pyszna, Tomanowa, Pisana"). The old shepherds' hut served skiers as a shelter, and during the war partisans and couriers hid in it; in 1936 an enlarged hut was opened, which the Germans burnt in January 1945. Today the hala is overgrown with forest and dwarf pine and closed to visitors, but it is well seen from the green trail from Iwaniacka Przełęcz via Siwa Przełęcz to Liliowy Karb.

Photos: Marfryd6360, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons; Jerzy Opioła, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons; Opioła Jerzy, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons; Cybularny, CC0, Wikimedia Commons; Margoz, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons; Andrzej Harassek, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons.