Valley of Five Polish Tarns
The Valley of Five Polish Tarns is one of the most picturesque places in the entire Tatras. This high mountain valley, located in the Polish High Tatras at an altitude of about 1600-1700 m above sea level, is surrounded by mighty peaks and offers truly breathtaking views. There are five main lakes here: Wielki Staw, Przedni, Mały, Czarny and Zadni, as well as smaller water pools. On the described route you will encounter 3 of them - Wielki Staw, Mały Staw and Przedni Staw. It's also a great starting point for higher parts of the Tatras, e.g. to Szpiglasowy Wierch. In the Valley of Five Tarns at an altitude of 1672 m above sea level, there is the PTTK Shelter in the Valley of Five Polish Tarns, which offers meals and accommodation possibilities (with advance reservation). If you are curious about the conditions in the valley, you can see the camera view on the official shelter website - https://piecstawow.pl/polozenie/kamera/.
Wielka Siklawa Waterfall
Siklawa is the largest and one of the most spectacular waterfalls in the Polish High Tatras. The foaming waters of the Roztoka stream fall here from the threshold of the Valley of Five Polish Tarns from a height of about 70 meters, crashing against rocky boulders and creating a cascade that can be heard from afar. The roar of falling water can drown out conversation, and on sunny days you can see rainbows shimmering in the water droplets. It is the largest waterfall in the Tatras, but not the highest. The highest waterfall in the entire Tatras is Ciężka Siklawa in the White Water Valley, in Slovakia. Wielka Siklawa, in our opinion, makes a huge impression and cannot be missed when hiking to the Valley of Five Polish Tarns.
Parking
It is located in Palenica Białczańska - 49.255833, 20.102985. These are 3 parking lots closest to the trail entrance and the largest ones belonging to the Tatra National Park. The first one is right by the trail, the next one stretches along the road, and the third one is located on Łysa Polana, about 20 minutes walk from the trail. Parking lots are filled in order, so even when buying a parking ticket in advance, the time of your arrival matters. The cost is 75 PLN, when purchased in advance at least 3 days the cost is 55 PLN. Tickets can be purchased on the official website - https://tpn.gov.pl/. We therefore recommend buying a parking ticket earlier not only because of the lower price, but also because in season this is a quite popular place among tourists and wanting to buy a ticket a day earlier it may turn out that all are sold out. Not to mention that then there is no point in counting on buying a ticket on the day of arrival, even if you choose to go early in the morning.
Additional parking
However, if you have not provided yourself with a parking ticket early enough, there is also the possibility of parking on the Slovak side (of course if you choose to go early enough), but tickets there are even more expensive - 80 PLN per day. If you also don't find a place here, you can use the TPN reserve parking lots located on the way to Łysa Polana. Their prices may be higher. There are quite a few of them, but they are quite far from the trail entrance. Most of them offer shuttle buses to the trail for an additional fee.
Green trail to Siklawa Waterfall
When going to the Valley of Five Polish Tarns, you cannot miss the nearby attraction that is Siklawa Waterfall. It is located on the way to the Valley, heading along the green trail. However, if you are heading to the Valley of Five Polish Tarns Shelter along the black trail, we recommend that you descend on the other side along the blue trail and make a small loop stopping just at the waterfall.
Trail length: 7,4 km
Duration: 2:50 h
Elevation gain: 671 m
Difficulty level: easy
Trail description
We start with the red trail, the same asphalt road that leads to Morskie Oko. At the entrance to the trail there are immediately ticket offices. In season it is quite crowded here, the parking lot is filled with cars and buses with more hikers arrive every now and then. We, however, gently cover almost 3 km about 40 minutes of walking to Wodogrzmoty Mickiewicza. Here there is space for a moment of rest, or using the portable toilet, but we leave the asphalt and turn onto the green trail leading already through the forest path towards the Valley of Five Tarns. This trail is already less crowded, as most tourists continued further along the asphalt road to Morskie Oko. The green trail is largely exposed, sometimes entering the forest for a moment. The path is pleasant, full of Tatra vegetation, often interwoven with a stream, surrounded by rocky peaks. After a little over an hour of trekking, we reach the intersection of the green and black trail leading to the Valley of Five Tarns Shelter. However, we continue hiking along the green trail, which begins to climb more steeply and will soon lead us to our destination. Just beyond the ascent, a beautiful waterfall emerges, along with the loud noise of falling water.
Loop route through PTTK Shelter in Valley of Five Polish Tarns
However, we don't end our hike at the waterfall but continue further. Below is a summary of the entire loop.
Trail length: 15,8 km
Duration: 5:30 h
Elevation gain: 797 m
Difficulty level: easy
Trail description
After a short break for an energy bar with a view of the waterfall, we continue further up the green trail. A bit further we pass another, smaller waterfall. We continue going up until we reach the intersection of the green trail with the blue one and the first Wielki Staw Polski. There we enter the blue trail and head to the PTTK Shelter of the Valley of Five Polish Tarns, which we reach quite quickly, passing more tarns along the way. There comes a moment for another break using the shelter's offer, or resting by one of the tarns. Then we set off on the return journey along the black trail. The first section leads quite gently downhill, in the second part of the trail the slope increases and descends along quite steep, rocky steps. However, we quickly reach the intersection with the green trail, along which we continue the return journey.
Szlak zielony na Dolinę Pięciu Stawów Polskich
Schronisko PTTK w Dolinie Pięciu Stawów Polskich
Szlak czarny
Summary
We completed the entire route in 5:10 h and covered 18 km. The trail was really pleasant, but with the intention of more trekking days, we gave up the additional climb to Morskie Oko. And since we were there on a vacation weekend, we also cared not to push ourselves onto the most popular and crowded trails.
Alternative routes
Route from parking in Palenica Białczańska through Valley of Five Polish Tarns via blue trail to Morskie Oko - return via red trail to parking in Palenica.
If you have more energy left, a good option is to take the blue trail from the Valley of Five Tarns to Morskie Oko. This trail climbs quite steeply again, then descends to the Shelter at Morskie Oko. The downside of this route (at least in our opinion) is that the return route from Morskie Oko leads only on asphalt to the parking lot in Palenica itself. It's also worth remembering that this trail is one of the most popular among tourists, especially in season, so there may be quite a few people on this route.
Trail length: 20,1 km
Duration: 6:43 h
Elevation gain: 1075 m
Difficulty level: easy
Practical information
In the areas and trails mentioned in this article, dogs are completely prohibited. It's worth taking this into account when traveling with a pet.
Entry tickets to the Tatra National Park are required. The cost per day is 11 PLN normal and 5.50 PLN reduced. 7-day tickets are also available. Tickets can be purchased at ticket offices by the trails, or online - https://tpn.gov.pl/wstep-do-parku
Remember to buy a parking ticket in advance if you plan to go there by car
When going to the Tatras, it's worth familiarizing yourself with the current tourist announcements issued by the Tatra National Park available on the official website - https://tpn.gov.pl/komunikat-turystyczny
