The Ultimate Guide to the Tatra National Park [Updated 2025]

The Tatra National Park – or the Tatrzański Park Narodowy in Polish – is the national park that covers the majority of the highest mountains around the town of Zakopane in southern Poland.

We’d say it’s by far the number one attraction of the Winter Capital of Poland, where people go to hike by summer and to ski by winter.

To put it another way – it’s not to be missed if you’re heading to Zakopane for a spell during your trip to Krakow.

We’ll deal with all the practicalities of planning a trip there, and look at the top things to do in the famous reserve – INCLUDING the best hiking and the best skiing.

Let’s go…

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The Tatra National Park is the designated nature reserve that covers the highest mountains in all of Poland. It’s protects a large swathe of the country’s stunning highlands immediately south of the town of Zakopane.

It’s a major draw for hikers in the warmer months and skiers in the winter months, though much of the skiing in Zakopane actually takes place on slopes outside of the national park itself due to regulations on what can and can’t be built.

Don’t ask how to get to the Tatra National Park. Ask how to get to Zakopane.

This town is very much the steppingstone into the reserve.

Thankfully, it’s extremely well-linked to Krakow and we have a complete guide on all the ways you can arrive.

For now, we’ll say that our fav way to travel is the train. It’s comfy, has nice views, and doesn’t run the risk of getting caught in traffic. Always book tickets in advance…

Once you’ve reached Zakopane, it’s actually possible to walk to the entrance to the Tatra National Park. There are a few separate gates, the most popular being the one in the village of Kuznice (30 minutes by foot or 10 minutes by bus from the center of Zakopane).

Quieter entry points await at Leśniczówka and Kościelisko, but for those we HIGHLY reccomend renting a car and driving down.

In fact, if you’re serious about exploring all corners of the national park, it’s best to have a car at your disposal.

There are decent bus links around the Zakopane area, but they can’t match the freedom you’ll have with your own wheels, especially when it comes to making it in early to the trailheads for key hikes like Morksie Oko, which will help you beat the crowds.

We hire using RentalCars.com usually. They have a good range of cars available in Krakow and Krakow Airport and offer decent late-cancellation policies on lots of bookings…

Everyone who wants to enter the Tatra National Park must buy a ticket.

They are available from the booths at the main entry points to the reserve, which are more often than not staffed by a rather grumpy person who will grunt and hand you your stub when you pass over the money.

Keep those stubs safe – they say they periodically check that you’ve paid (although we’ve never been approached by a ranger in 10 years or visiting!).

The prices are as follows:

• Full admission for a day: 9 PLN ($2)
• Reduced entry: 4.5 PLN ($1)
• Week ticket for multiple entries: 45 PLN ($10)

The Tatra National Park doesn’t have strict opening times in that people aren’t ushered out at a certain hour. Instead, you’ll be limited to what time you can enter because of when the ticket booths close, which is 2pm in the winter and 3pm in the spring, and then 4pm for the summer and fall.

Don’t worry, either – they don’t seal off the exits and whatnot, so you can still get back to town if your hike passes those times and you’re still on the trail, though it’s obviously not a good idea to plan hikes that exceed what you expect them to!

The Tatra National Park encompasses a whole run of various mountain valleys – known locally as Dolina.

They go from Łysa Polana in the east to the remote Dolina Chochołowska in the west.

As they creep southwards, those valleys eventually meet the front range of the Tatras themselves, which very suddenly get to over 2,500 meters above sea level at the summit of Rysy, the tallest mountain in Poland.

Rysy is actually one of the easternmost summits here. Off its craggy top spans a whole ridge that runs the length of the Slovakian border. That links up some of the most inconic mountains in the region, from Kasprowy Wierch – the home of the only ski resort in the High Tatras of southern Poland – to Gaborowa Przełęcz Wyżnia.

At lower levels, you can expect to see beautiful forests of spruce and fir, all cut through by gurgling rivers that will almost completely freeze over in winter to showcase icicle-filled waterfalls.

Go higher and you can leave behind the woods to reach exposed ridges that have stunning views into Slovakia and across the Polish foothills to the north.

There are also quite a few quaint little moutnain huts located within park boundaries. They’re open all year – at least most are – and sell a range of Polish food like dumplings, soups, hot chocolates, and even some hiking gear like spikes to help you nail those winter hikes.

Finally, this is also where you’ll find the iconic Kasprowy cable car. It’s one of the great engineering feats of the region, it was first opened way back in 1936 but has since been rebuilt. It can take you up to the highest ski runs in the country, or just for lunch in a – rather price – panoramic restaurant.

The hiking season in the Tatra National Park is a long one.

It runs from the first snowmelt in spring to the first snowfall, usually in November, though there are some shorter hiking routes that are open all year round to casual hikers, and pros keep coming even throughout the snow season between Nov-March (this was a training ground for Poland’s iconic Ice Warriors, you know!)

There are a whopping 99 individual trails to get through, which is plenty – we’ve been coming on and off for the best part of a decade and still have loads to conquer.

The most popular of the bunch are probably:

• The ascent of Kasprowy Wierch – This can be done from Kuznice town and extended to include a mountain lake a long ridge walk on top of Slovakia.
• The Valley of the Five Lakes/ Dolina Pieciu Stawów – This is a seriously gorgeous walk that takes 2+ hours in all. It goes through one of the eastern valleys under Rysy mountain, which hosts five stunning lakes.
• Morskie Oko – This one almost certainly deserves its own sub-section it’s that popular. Suffice to say this is certainly the most-trodden route in the park. It’s relatively easy, takes about an hour and culminates with a view of a beautiful lake under the hulking top of Mnich mountain.
• Rysy – The climb up the highest peak in Poland is very challenging, requires some scrambling, and will take all day. Prep accordingly and don’t underestimate it!

There’s ONLY one place where you can ski in the Tatra National Park: Kasprowy.

This was one of the original ski fields in south Poland and it’s served by the Kolej Kasprowy Wierch Kuźnice cable car – also known as just the Kasprowy Cable Car.

Since that was built – waaay back in the 1930s – the law has changed and the park has been expanded, which has limited the size of the ski resort and stopped it from using artificial snowmaking.

Thankfully, there’s usually plenty of the white stuff from around early December onwards, and skiers here get an array of high-altitude runs that are the closest thing you’ll get to proper Alpine skiing if you ask us.

It’s super-important to be there early because the cable car (more on it below) always has a queue from 9am.

Want to ski here? Check out our complete guide to skiing in Kasprowy Wierch and our greater guide to skiiing in Zakopane.

It all helps to keep the nearby town of Zakopane pretty darn lively no matter the season. There are a few other little draws that you might want to think about. We’ll look at the whole lot in detail right here…

• The Kasprowy Wierch Cable Car – There’s a vintage (though rebuilt in the modern era) cable car that can whisk you to the top of Kasprowy Weirch. It’s an amazing ride that skims the top of the fir forests and then tops out right by the Slovak border some 2,000 meters above sea level. Tickets are 149 PLN ($32 return). You can also do a day trip to ride the cable car from Krakow, which includes a tour of Zakopane.
• Waterfalls – The Tatras are unusually blessed with waterfalls on their northern (that’s the Polish) side. Our favourite is probably the Siklawica Waterfall at the end of Dolina Strążyska. Come in winter and you can see it completely frozen. Sadly, swimming isn’t allowed in the park.
• Zakopane town – While not technically in the Tatra National Park, Zakopane town is unmissable. It’s got lovely spa hotels and some great mountain taverns to dine in. Cozy by winter and lively by summer, it’s a beauty. Check out bustling Krupowki Street for the best bars and hotels and restaurants.
• Thermal Baths – The whole region of the Tatras is now famed as a hub for thermal springs, and there are loads of spa facilities known as Termy dotting the region. Our fav is probably just about the Termy Chochołowskie a little to the west of Zakopane. Again, this isn’t within Tatra NP limits so you won’t have to pay the entry fee to visit the baths, just the admission fee for the baths themselves. Trips to the baths can also be done from Krakow in a single day.
• Wildflower viewing – Dolina Chochołowska is the valley that opens up on the south side of the town of Chochołow towards the western end of the Tatra National Park. It’s famous for its crocus blooms, which start in April most years. There’s parking if you turn left after going through the village of Kiry. You can pay for park admission about 100m along from the carpark.

Simple as that. It’s quite strictly enforced, too, apparently. We’ve heard stories of hefty fines being levied on folks who pull out the canvass and poles here.

So, that’s that.

What you can do is spend the night in one of the many cabins that are within the park boundaries.

It can be a real experience, threading together multiple days of hiking and bedding down in old-school highland cabins in the hills (more on those below…)

The best way to spend a night inside the boundaries of the Tatra National Park in Poland is to book yourself into one of the mountain huts run by the PTTK (the Polish Tourist and Sightseeing Society).

They are wonderful things. Built from natural stone, wood, and timber tiles, they ooze highland vibes and offer cozy little rooms as close to the peaks as you can get.

Of course, they don’t have vehicular access, so you will HAVE to hike to them. But that’s part of the fun! You can string together two, three or even more days of hiking, staying in huts as you go.

The mountains huts in the Tatras are surprisingly well equipped. Most have small kitchens or onsite restaurant serving Polish food, bathrooms with hot water, showers, and beds (either bunks or singles) with good mattresses.

Oh yea, and most have EPIC views.

All huts have different booking systems (annoying, we know), run mainly via individual websites.

Here’s a list of all the huts in the Tatras and a link to sites where you can book them (which we 100% reccomend doing).

• Morskie Oko Hostel – One of the most famous, right by the Eye of the Sea lake. There’s been a shelter here for over 100 years!
• Kalatówki Mountain Hotel – This feels more like a long-lost mountain hotel, or something out of The Haunting. One of the bigger huts in the hills, it’s got an on-site bar and restaurant and more of an upscale service than most huts.
• Schronisko on Hali Kondratowej – One of the smallest huts in the Tatras, has space for just eight people, so be sure to pre-book a stay!
• PTTK Chochołowska – There are over 130 beds in this large hut in the Chocholowska Valley. Gets really busy for the crocus blooms in April/May.
• Five Polish Ponds Valley Shelter – Sat inside the famous Valley of the Five Lakes, this hut is over 70 years old and one of the highest in Poland.
• PTTK Valley Roztoka – A charming lodge made of wood with good access to Morskie Oko.

We always recommend first-time visitors stay in Zakopane for visiting the Tatra National Park. There are few reasons for that…

1. Location – can walk from the centre of Zakopane right into the national park if you want to. It’s the closest place to access the main trails.
2. Hotels – Zakopane has one of the best arrays of hotels in Southern Poland, some of which are downright luxury and lovely to return to after hiking/skiing in the mountains.
3. Ease of access – Buses and trains and main roads link Krakow to Zakopane directly. It’s easy to get here for getting to the park.

Now, we have a separate guide that we update super regularly on the best hotels in Zakopane right now. It’s best to check that if you want to nail down the finest accommodation options in the town itself.

What we’ll do here is pinpoint a few other hotel options that are specifically super-close to either main entry points the national park or major trailheads.

One caveat: This might mean that the hotels below DO NOT get you into the buzzing heart of Zakopane but rather somewhere outside. What they definitely will do is put you near the national reserve…

• EnHotel ($$$)– This is a slice of hotel perfection if you ask us. EnHotel is in the village of Kuznice, which puts you right at the base of the Tatra NP’s most iconic hikes to Kasprowy and other peaks. It’s a lesson in understated luxury, with rough-stone walls and rich woods running through its exquisite doubles and private spa facility. We’d pick this if the budget allows.
• Gościniec Kuźnice ($$$) – Another fine stay in Kuznice village, this lovely guesthouse has proper highlander styles and very cosy rooms. The breakfast offering is excellent too.
• Stary Niedźwiedź ($$$) – Stary Niedźwiedź – the Old Bear – is a gorgeous hotel literally steps from one of the western entrypoints to the national park. It’s got an uber-stylish indoor pool and sauna, plus rooms with freestanding baths.
• Three Valleys Chalet with Jacuzzi ($$) – If you’re after a private chalet with self-catering and its own gardens, stray west to the Dolina Strążyska area (great hiking!) and choose this charming timber bolthole. It’s great for families.
• Siedlisko Kościelisko ($$) – The perfect hiking or Nordic skiing couples’ escape, this cabin is more like something you’d find in the woods and lakes of Scandinavia.
• Good Bye Lenin Hostel Zakopane ($) – For budget seekers there’s no better option for getting to the park than this. It’s on the south side of Zakopane town and hides in its own little wooded glen. Cheap beds with a great vibe is the name of the game. You’ll be in the company of backpackers, hikers, ultra marathon runners, that sorta bunch.