The Orla Perć
The most famous and most dangerous exposed route in the Tatras — chains, steps, experience.
Opioła Jerzy — CC BY 2.5 · Cybularny — CC0 · Cybularny — CC0 · Cybularny — CC0
Two ways: on foot uphill from Kuźnice in about two and a half hours on a clear trail, or by the Kasprowy Wierch cable car and then down into the valley — the cable car sells out early in season, so book or go at dawn. Many walk down on the return. Allow a full day either way.
Reaching the valley itself and walking around its lakes is within reach of anyone reasonably fit in proper boots — the trail is clear and well used. But the branching routes to the peaks, and the Orla Perć above all, are another matter entirely: exposed, dangerous, and the site of fatal accidents every year. Do not attempt them without experience and equipment.
Late June to September for hillwalking, when the trails are usually clear of snow. July and August are busiest. Late September and October are quieter and finer in colour, but the days are shorter and the weather less settled. From November to May the area is in winter conditions with avalanche risk, requiring winter equipment and experience.
Sign in to write your review of this place.
No reviews yet — be the first.
A high glacial valley in the heart of the Tatra mountains within the national park, and one of the principal gateways to the high mountains from Zakopane. The valley was cut by ice in the last glaciation, leaving a broad basin above the treeline ringed by rock summits, with a chain of small glacial lakes on its floor known locally as sea eyes. The area lies above fifteen hundred metres, and the scene is genuinely alpine rather than hilly. From the valley the trails branch to the peaks: Świnica, Kościelec, and the Orla Perć — the last being the most famous and most dangerous exposed route in the Tatras, fitted with chains and iron steps and requiring experience and a head for heights. Access from Zakopane is by the Kasprowy cable car towards Hala Gąsienicowa, or on foot uphill in about two and a half hours from Kuźnice. This is not a stroll: Tatra weather turns within minutes, and thunderstorms are common in summer afternoons. Check the forecast and start early.
The most famous and most dangerous exposed route in the Tatras — chains, steps, experience.
Genuinely alpine: rock, lakes and summits rather than wooded hills.
From the valley the trails branch to Świnica, Kościelec and others.
Tatra National Park, south-east of Zakopane