UKC

Have fairly last minute trip coming up - will be flying to Krakow for 7 days. Planning a day or two locally then going to stay in a hotel in Zakopane for the rest. I'm after any tips on the hill walking (my mrs doesnt like anything beyond mild scramble), fell running potential and is it worth having a car

Cheers P

In reply to Paul Atkinson: My girlfriend reccomends a place called orla perc. She says it caters for all levels and she says if you get a chance hop over to the slovakian side as well.

In reply to Paul Atkinson:
Plenty of walking at low level in the woods. You can drive round to Lysa Polana and walk up to Morsky Oko hut. From there there is a fairly straightforward walk/scramble to the summit of Zaby Szcyzt if my memory and spelling serves me well. I've used that as a descent from the route on the W face of the hill. From the same hut you can get to the summit of Rysy, highest peak in Poland. pretty easily as well.

In reply to Paul Atkinson:
We camped in Zakopane 16 years ago in the summer without a car and had no problems. We had bikes though, and I think we took the bus to places. Although we did plenty of walking and I remember we totally loved it. Great weather, beautiful mountains and brilliant walking, all way marked trails. We didn't have any maps either but went all over so it must have been easy to navigate...

In reply to Paul Atkinson:
If you're based in Zakopane then car is not necessary. One thing I would say is that Orla Perc is probably a bit more than a mild scramble so may not be a good idea for your mrs. Also, Rysy from the Polish side is apparently not very exciting (haven't done it to so can't vouch). Instead approaching from the Slovakian is supposed to give a much better walk. Swinica is very good albeit crowded. If you can, avoid the weekend as it is *extremely* busy in the summer months.
Have fun!

Piotr

In reply to Paul Atkinson: Thanks guys. I think I'll not bother with a car then - kind of defaulted to hiring one and then found myself wondering why. Looking forward to hills, wodka and huge suspicious looking sausages

P

In reply to Paul Atkinson:
You don't need a car if you are based in zakopane. Cars are not allowed in the park area anyway and you can get to all the popular valleys by bus. Polish national park rules can be quite restrictive and the general assumption is that you are supposed to remain on the marked paths although I never noticed any wardens. If you have time it might be worth overnighting in one of the wooden hostels in the middle of the forest although I have not done that myself so I don't know what the accomodation is like but it looks cool. Orla perc is dangerous and walkers have have died falling off it. finally don't forgot the essential polish mountain walking equipment flip flops or high heels and a supply of zwiec. Have fun. Do widzenia

In reply to Paul Atkinson: only been in winter but I hear that places like Morskie Oko can get VERY busy (1000's of people daily), especially in the holiday periods. Zakopane is a great place. good food, good drinking and questionable street vendors selling questionable goods!

as mentioned, you don't need a car to get around. the buses are cheap enough but watch out for some bus drivers will try to charge you over the odds.

the mountains are beautiful regardless which side you climb them from though they are marred by the chains and the way markers painted on the rock.

In reply to Paul Atkinson:

http://taternik.net/

Worth looking at taternik.net....quite a usefull site.
The Tatras are an amazing place...with some stunning mountains and ridges.
Koscielec has an amazing summit and is easy enough...small section of grade 1 scamble.
Giewont via dolina strysyska would make a nice day out from town aswell....with an beautiful view over zakopane.
Great food , amazing climbing , generally uncrowded and cheap....awesome place.

In reply to Paul Atkinson: Here is some details for climbers, but you can find general tips too:

http://www.topo.uka.pl/content/english/morskie_oko/morskie_oko_e.php

Don't forget to save phone number to rescue services in Tatras:

Polish TOPR, unfortunately the site is in Polish only http://www.topr.pl so here is the number +48601100300

Slovakia HZS, all details are at Wikipedia too:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountain_Rescue_Service_%28Slovakia%29

Also, currently the weather conditions in Tatras may be surprising, it's been snowing and now there is even 3 inches of snow cover. So, be prepared for sudden chances. Here you can see photos taken 2 days ago on Kasprowy Summit:

http://wiadomosci.gazeta.pl/Wiadomosci/51,80273,9882197.html?i=0

In case of doubt, you can always call TOPR or HZS and ask for conditions.

Hope it helps.