Hala Gasienicowa

Hala Gasienicowa is an open meadow at about 1,500 metres in a basin below the main Tatra ridge, reached in a couple of hours from Kuznice on either the Boczan trail or the easier Jaworzynka route, and its importance is as a junction: trails leave it for Swinica, Kasprowy Wierch, Kozi Wierch, the Zawrat pass and over Krzyzne into the Valley of Five Lakes, so most multi-day walking in the eastern Tatras passes through it. On the meadow are the Murowaniec refuge, built in the 1920s in the Zakopane style of stone and timber and still the busiest hut in the range, a meteorological and geophysical observatory that has run since the 1930s, and a shepherd's hut selling oscypek in season. Small tarns lie above it. It is one of the few places in the Tatras where you can sit for an hour and watch the whole system of the mountains working.

What you actually see

• A trail junction - routes to Swinica, Zawrat, Kozi Wierch and the Five Lakes leaving the meadow.
• The Murowaniec refuge - 1920s stone and timber, the busiest hut in the Tatras.
• A 1930s observatory - meteorological and geophysical, still recording.
• A shepherd's hut - oscypek cheese sold on the meadow in season.

When to go

June to October. A day, or as a base for longer walking.

Honest expectations

The refuge is booked out through summer and is crowded in the day. The walk up from Kuznice takes about two hours with real ascent. Weather changes fast at this height. Trails beyond the meadow are exposed mountain routes.

Nearby

Kasprowy Wierch is west; the Valley of Five Lakes is east over Krzyzne.