Kościeliska Valley

A valley of rocks, caves and shepherds

The Kościeliska Valley is one of the best-known and most visited valleys in the Polish Tatras. It lies in the Western Tatras, west of Zakopane: its mouth is at Kiry, part of the Kościelisko municipality, at about 930 m, and the valley runs for roughly 9 km up to the main ridge. By area (around 35 km²) it is the second largest in the Polish Tatras after the Chochołowska Valley, and it is first for limestone crags, gorges and caves. Błyszcz (2,159 m) rises above the valley, and from the mountain hut you can also see Bystra, the highest peak of the Western Tatras.

The valley has a rich history. From the late 15th century ore was mined here, smelting furnaces worked on the Stare Kościeliska meadow, and the ironworks closed in 1841 — the remains of a furnace and an old chapel recall them. Merchants and smugglers crossed the valley and the pass beyond, and rock names such as the Robbers' Windows remember the highwaymen. The first tourists arrived as early as 1815. Today sheep graze several meadows again, which keeps the grassland where crocuses bloom in spring.

What to see and do

• Three rock gates — Kantak's Gate, Kraszewski's Gate and the Kraków (Raptawicka) Gate, where the walls of the gorge almost meet.
• The Ice Spring (Lodowe Źródło) — one of the largest karst springs in the Tatras: 600–700 litres of water per second at a constant temperature of about 4.5 °C.
• The Kraków Gorge (Wąwóz Kraków) — a shady side gorge only about 2 m wide in places; the accessible part is about 500 m long.
• Caves: Mroźna Cave with a marked route, plus Smocza Jama, Mylna, Raptawicka and Obłazkowa for those with a torch and some experience.
• Ornak meadow and the PTTK “Ornak” hut — the goal of most walks, from where Smreczyński Staw lake is 20 minutes away.
• The TPN Nature Education Centre at the entrance — an underground interactive exhibition, “Tatrzańskie Archiwum Planety Ziemia”, on how the Tatras were formed, with life-size models of a dinosaur and a cave bear.

Practical information

Getting there. The valley entrance is at Kiry on the road from Zakopane to Chochołów; by the entrance there is a bus stop, a paid TPN car park (30 zł per car, paid at a machine, in an app or by QR code) and private car parks. The route. According to TPN, the loop Kiry – Polana Pisana – Kraków Gorge – Ornak hut – Smreczyński Staw – Kiry is about 14 km: around 3 hours up and 2 hours down. The track is wide and gentle, suitable for pushchairs and beginners. Horse-drawn carriages take visitors from the entrance to Polana Pisana.

Tickets and rules. The TPN ticket costs 11 zł (reduced 5.50 zł, children under 7 free); buy it online, at the ticket point or via the QR code at the entrance. Mroźna Cave needs a separate ticket. From 1 March to 30 November walking on trails between dusk and dawn is prohibited. Dogs are not allowed in the valley, and bicycles are banned here because of the heavy foot traffic. Drones are prohibited throughout TPN. In winter the lower valley is accessible, but higher up there may be avalanche danger — check the TPN tourist bulletin.

Nearby

• Mroźna Cave — about 2 km from the valley entrance.
• Smreczyński Staw — a small lake among moraines above the Ornak hut.
• Chochołowska Valley — the neighbouring valley, the largest in the Polish Tatras.
• Chochołów — a village of timber houses a few kilometres to the north.

Official website: tpn.gov.pl

Photos: Kapitel, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons; Marfryd6360, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons; Agnieszka Kwiecień, Nova, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons; Maksym Kozlenko, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons; Witold Nowakowski, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons; Cybularny, CC0, Wikimedia Commons; Mikołaj Wróbel, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons.