Morskie Oko & Lacs de Vallée

The Polis Tatras Tour is a full-immersion in the northern side of the Tatras Mountains, a landscape of rocky peaks, deep valleys, glacial lakes and immense forests.

Morskie Oko — "the Eye of the Sea" — is Poland's largest and most celebrated mountain lake, filling a deep glacial cirque at 1,395 m beneath the dramatic walls of Rysy and Mięguszowieckie Peaks. The walk from Palenica Białczańska is one of Poland's most popular, and deservedly so — a steady climb through forest and alpine meadows to a lake that genuinely takes the breath away. The ridge that marks the Polish-Slovak border is the spine of this range, and walking along it offers one of the most exhilarating high-level experiences in the region.

For those wanting more solitude, we explore the less-visited lakes of the Pięć Stawów Polskich (Five Polish Lakes) cirque above Morskie Oko, an extraordinary high alpine plateau filled with turquoise lakes that few international visitors ever reach. The Szpiglasowy Pass connecting the two cirques is one of the finest short ridge walks in the Tatras.

Beyond its mountain scenery, the Polish Tatras are the heartland of kultura góralska—the distinctive highlander culture of southern Poland. Traditional wooden architecture, colorful folk art, hearty mountain cuisine, and centuries-old customs give the region a cultural identity unlike anywhere else you may have been in the Alps.