Tatra Volunteer Rescue Service (TOPR)

The Tatra Volunteer Rescue Service (Tatrzańskie Ochotnicze Pogotowie Ratunkowe, TOPR) is Poland's oldest mountain rescue service: the association was registered in Lviv on 29 October 1909, after the composer Mieczysław Karłowicz died in an avalanche. Today TOPR, based in Zakopane, rescues people in the Polish Tatras and on the Spisz–Gubałówka range. It carries out its public tasks under the Act on safety and rescue in the mountains, commissioned by the Ministry of the Interior and Administration, and operates its own rescue helicopter.

How to call for help

Dial the short number 985 or the 24/7 TOPR and GOPR number shown below. If the signal is weak or absent, dial 112; moving up to a ridge or back to where you last had coverage can help. The most convenient way to call is the official Ratunek app: during the call it automatically sends an SMS with your exact location.

Don't worry about what to say — the duty rescuer will guide the conversation. The key information is:

• where the accident happened and what happened;
• the condition of the injured and how many people need help;
• conditions on site (weather, snow, visibility);
• phone numbers of other people nearby and what equipment you have (headlamp, helmet, warm clothes, in winter an avalanche kit).

Keep your phone on and save the battery. Without coverage, give a light or sound signal six times a minute. Show the helicopter your arms raised in a Y — “yes, we need help”.

Area and stations

TOPR covers the Polish side of the Tatras — the High and Western Tatras within the Tatra National Park — and the Spisz–Gubałówka range above Zakopane. Its main base is the TOPR Central Station in Zakopane. At the request of other services the TOPR helicopter also flies to other mountains of southern Lesser Poland.

Good to know

• In winter and spring TOPR publishes an avalanche bulletin for the Polish Tatras, as well as weather-station data; the Tatra National Park updates trail conditions daily.
• Rescue in the Polish Tatras is free. Many trails, however, follow the Slovak border: if you fall or stray onto the Slovak side, the Slovak HZS carries out the rescue and charges for it, so get insurance covering helicopter rescue for such routes.
• In bad weather, avalanche danger or at night, waiting for rescuers can take several hours — plan your route so that you are somewhere safe before dark.
• Flying drones in the Tatra National Park without a special permit is prohibited.