Nature

Kraków Gorge in the Tatra Mountains

A rocky ravine branching off the Kościeliska Valley near Polana Pisana, cut deep into the slopes of Ciemniak and Upłaziańska Kopa. The Kraków Gorge is considered the finest rocky gorge of the Polish Western Tatras and was already being visited in the first half of the 19th century. The yellow trail runs only through its initial section — on the way you face a ladder and a passage through the Smocza Jama cave.

The yellow-trail loop

The route measures about 1.3 km, takes 55 minutes and gains 95 m; part of it is one-way. After a hundred metres a near-vertical wall with an iron ladder appears on the left — it leads to Smocza Jama, a short corridor 37 m long and 16.5 m high that pierces the rock threshold with the help of chains. The cave can be bypassed along the rock. A torch helps, though the passage is possible without one. The deeper parts of the gorge are under strict protection.

Where the name comes from

Highlanders who occasionally travelled to Kraków decided the city's narrow streets resembled this ravine. Hence the names of the neighbouring crags — Ratusz (Town Hall), Baszta (Tower), Kościół (Church) — and the widening called Rynek (Market Square). The whole gorge is about 3 km long and its floor is usually dry: it is drained by a karst spring beneath Skała Pisana. In spring snow lingers in the ravine for a long time.

Practical information

From the mouth of the Kościeliska Valley it is about 4 km on foot to Polana Pisana. A Tatra National Park ticket is required: PLN 10 regular, PLN 5 reduced. The paid car parks at the valley entrance fill up quickly in season — come early.