Koscieliska Valley

Koscieliska runs about nine kilometres south into the Western Tatras from Kiry, and unlike the granite east it is limestone - which changes everything about it: the water sinks and reappears, the valley narrows repeatedly into gorges with vertical walls, there are caves in the sides, and there are meadows where shepherding still happens. The track along the floor is flat and wide enough for a horse cart, so the valley is walkable by anyone as far as the Ornak refuge; the gorges - Krakowska, Pyszniowa and the Koscieliska gate - are the set pieces along it. There are some seventy caves in the valley sides; Mrozna is lit for walkers and others can be entered with a lamp. Hala Ornak and Hala Pisana are the grazing meadows with wooden huts where sheep's cheese is sold in season. The Ornak refuge dates from 1948. The valley also has a mining past - silver and iron were worked here from the fifteenth century, and in the nineteenth it was a busy metallurgical centre. Above the refuge the trails climb into the Western Tatras proper and become mountain walking.

The landscape

• Limestone gorges - the valley narrowing repeatedly into vertical-walled gates.
• Caves - Mroźna lit and marked, others entered with a lamp.
• Shepherds' huts - working meadows with sheep's cheese sold in season.
• A flat valley track - walkable by anyone as far as the Ornak refuge.

When to go

May to October; the valley floor is doable in most weather. A day.

What to expect

The valley floor is busy on summer weekends, though far less so than Morskie Oko. Caves are cold and require care underfoot. Trails above the refuge are proper mountain routes. Winter brings avalanche risk on the upper sections.

Nearby

Chocholowska valley is west; Zakopane is east.

Key facts