The Tatras Mountains – Zapokane and Hiking Mount Koscielec

The next day I picked up my hire car and drove south for about 2 hours to the Tatras mountains that lie on the border between Poland and Slovakia. I stopped on the way to buy supplies for a few days in the chalet I had booked… and wondered again at how cheap food and (especially) drink are in Poland. The area is hugely popular with local tourists, and the road was lined with lots of holiday homes, hotels and shops selling skiing and hiking gear. I was expecting a wild and rather poor part of Europe, but instead the region felt like Switzerland – green rolling hills and pretty, neat houses. I reached my own holiday home, which was in a small village – and spent the first afternoon settling in. It was a modern building fitted out to high standards – presumably by the famously skillful Polish builders.

The next day I set off to go hiking. The road to the town of Zapokane for start of my trail offered a brilliant view of the mountains.

The high Tatras mountains approaching Zapokane

As I approached the Zapokane, the road became busy. Every few metres there were places offering parking. At first the prices were reasonable – 10 zlotys (2 euros) – but as I approached the starting point of my walk they rose….20, 40, and finally, where the road ended, 50 zlotys. Despite the high prices demand was strong and I got the very last space.

From the car park in Zapokane I still had to walk about a kilometre to the park entry and pay my entrance fee. There were lots of other hikers, who nearly all seemed to be Polish. The first part of the trail went through a forest. It was pleasant but not exceptional and at first I wondered why the region has such a lofty reputation. But then the path emerged from the forest and a spectacular vista opened up of the High Tatras mountains rising steeply from the surrounding hills.

After a bit more walking my destination came into sight – Mount Koscielec, nicknamed the “Polish Matterhorn”. It is the second pointy peak in the middle of the next photo.

At the base of the mountain was a pretty lake, with perfectly clear water, in which I saw several trout swimming.

From there it was a steep climb up to the first pointy peak located just below the Mount Koscielec. It was quite hard work involving scrambling up rocks, but the view at the top was worth it.

I could see the main mountain ahead of me, but on my first day’s hiking I didn’t fancy another hour or so of scrambling over rocks, and I thought the view would be just as good were I was. So I enjoyed the spectacular scenery for half an hour and then headed back to Zapokane. Climbing Mount Koscielec will have to wait for when I return to the Tatras!

I was very happy with my walk, even if chickened out of the very last part of the climb up the mountain. I returned to my chalet to have a dinner of locally caught trout, with some Polish white wine. The trout was excellent, but although Poland does many things well, wine is not its strongest suite. For my next meal I will revert to their excellent beer and vodka!

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