Few places within a day’s hike of Zakopane are as prized as Dolina Pięciu Stawów Polskich (Valley of Five Polish Ponds), a high basin shaped by glaciers and dotted with lakes. The biggest, Wielki Staw, holds the record as the deepest and longest lake anywhere in the Tatras. Beside the water stands the highest mountain hut in Poland, at 1,671 m, where you rest for about 45 minutes and can buy a meal.
The hike starts at Palenica Białczańska, half an hour’s drive from Zakopane. A 45-minute walk on the red trail brings you to Wodogrzmoty Mickiewicza, three large and several smaller cascades on the Roztoka stream, best seen from the early-20th-century bridge over them. From there green and then blue trails climb through Dolina Roztoki to Wielka Siklawa, at about 70 m the highest waterfall in Poland, which pours down the rock step, splitting into two, occasionally three, ribbons of water. In winter the route avoids Siklawa because of ice.
Count on about 2.5 hours up and 3–3.5 hours down the same way, 17 km in total, at a medium level of difficulty. A private guide, park tickets and air-conditioned transport are included.
