Mickiewicz Falls (Wodogrzmoty Mickiewicza)

Adam Mickiewicz never set foot in the Tatras, yet the best-known group of waterfalls on the road to Morskie Oko bears his name. Mickiewicz Falls are three larger and several smaller cascades on the Roztoka stream, 3 to 10 m high, whose roar after heavy rain can be heard long before you reach the bridge. For most hikers they are the first stop on the route from Palenica Białczańska — and worth more than a single photo.

Where the name comes from

Highlanders simply called the place Grzmot ("Thunder"), after the noise of the falling water. In 1891 the Tatra Society named the falls after Adam Mickiewicz to commemorate the transfer of the poet's remains to Wawel Cathedral the year before; a memorial plaque was placed on the rock by the Lower Fall at the time. The same name was meant for the Rybi Potok Valley, but it never caught on there. Some guidebook authors, including Władysław Cywiński, consider the name inappropriate and simply write "Wodogrzmoty", but the official name remains Wodogrzmoty Mickiewicza.

How the falls were discovered

Before 1880 hikers bypassed the cascades, passing near Stara Roztoka. The first named tourist known to have seen them was the painter and Tatra promoter Walery Eljasz, guided by Maciej Sieczka in 1879. Paths to the falls were laid out in 1886, and the stone bridge on the Oswald Balzer road was built in 1900 and widened in 1966. Until the 1980s there was a car park and a bus stop here for buses heading to Morskie Oko.

What to see

The Roztoka, flowing down from the Valley of the Five Polish Lakes, drops here over a rock step between the Roztoka and Białka valleys, about 1 km before it joins the Białka. The falls lie at about 1,100 m above sea level. Above them rise the cliffs of Turnia nad Szczotami in the Wołoszyn massif.

• Middle Fall (Pośredni Wodogrzmot) — best seen from the bridge on the road to Morskie Oko.
• Upper Fall (Wyżni Wodogrzmot) — barely visible from the bridge; the green trail up the valley gives a better view.
• Lower Fall (Niżni Wodogrzmot) — below the bridge and not accessible to visitors.
• Larch and stone pine forest — a relict stand on the slopes of Roztocka Czuba above the cascades.
• A viewpoint a little further towards Morskie Oko, from which on a clear day you can see Gerlach, the highest peak of the Tatras.

Tripto tips

From the car park at Palenica Białczańska it takes about 40 minutes on the tarmac road to get here, and from here about another 1.5 hours to Morskie Oko. By the falls, the green trail branches off to the Roztoka hut (15 minutes) and on to the Valley of the Five Polish Lakes (about 2 hours). Parking at Palenica must be booked online in advance, and there is an entrance fee for Tatra National Park. The cascades carry the most water in spring during the snowmelt and after summer downpours. In summer the bridge gets crowded, so early morning is the quietest time.