Gubalowka Funicular

The funicular from Zakopane climbs the ridge of Gubalowka in a few minutes, rising several hundred metres on a single track with a passing loop halfway. It has been running since the 1930s and remains the easiest way in Poland to get a full view of a high mountain range without walking. From the top the whole Tatra skyline stands across the valley, with Zakopane's roofs in the foreground and the ridge itself running away west as open pasture. The summit area is developed for visitors, with a paved promenade, food stalls, souvenir stands and a summer toboggan run down the slope.

What you actually see

• The Tatra panorama - the full ridge across the valley, the reason nearly everyone comes up.
• The funicular itself - a short, steep track with wooden framed stations dating from the 1930s.
• The ridge walk - a path west along open pasture that leaves the stalls behind within ten minutes.
• The stall promenade - grilled cheese, sheepskin and souvenirs, the commercial heart of the summit.

When to go

Clear mornings give the best view, since haze and cloud build over the Tatras during the day. Winter adds snow on the ridge and the view is often sharper, though queues are long in the ski holidays. Avoid summer afternoons entirely. If the ridge is in cloud there is no point buying a ticket, and the view can be checked from town first.

Honest expectations

The top is a commercial strip of stalls and grill stands rather than a mountain summit, and it can feel like a fairground. Queues for the funicular in season are long in both directions. Tickets are not cheap for a ride of a few minutes, and the same ridge can be walked up in about forty five minutes for nothing. In haze the panorama disappears.

Nearby

Krupowki street is directly below the lower station, and the Tatra trails start on the other side of Zakopane.