A Trip to Zakopane: Hiking to the Giewont peak (III)

The last day in Zakopane gifted us with sun and amazing weather. I was particularly happy that on such a nice day we decided to climb the Giewont peak (1896 m). There were only a few clouds in the sky, so we could clearly see the mountains and the landscape. Every 10-15 minutes we felt like stopping and enjoying the scenery.

The path to the Giewont peak is rather popular. There‘s a cross standing on top, which can be easily seen even further from the mountains. There are a few different trails leading to the top, but I truly recommend choosing the same one that we chose. During the whole hike, we could see the mountains and spectacular cliffs. From all the days in Zakopane, this hike was the most beautiful. We wanted to stop and rest more than was needed just so we could admire the nature.

We reached the beginning of the trail by car – it is located at the borderline of Zakopane town. You can first find this point in the Tatras trail app, then find it on Google Maps which will show you how to reach it. At the beginning of the trail, there‘s a parking lot (some travelers were leaving their cars even on the curb of the road) and a ticket booth where you have to either pay 5 zl or show your weekly ticket for 25 zl.

The first part of the trail is really non-difficult and leads to a fairytale-like valley, which looked like it was taken from a movie. We continued on the yellow-marked trail, crossed the valley full of the last summer blossoms and started climbing a steeper route. Although the path was becoming steeper and steeper, it was worth all the effort. On the way, we even met mountain goats! They were jumping down the steep slopes like professional alpinists.

The next point we reached was a crossroad of several trails. From this point, you could easily see Giewont, the Tatra mountain peak, towards which you can continue the hike. We didn’t climb all the way up ourselves because at the top we saw a huge huddle of people (there‘s a part of the trail where you need to climb holding onto metal chains, and the traffic there was held). We felt like we much more wanted to admire the mountains instead of waiting in a line for half an hour. If you start your hike really early in the morning, I believe you could reach the peak without waiting in such a long line.

We continued our hike by following the red-marked trail. However, if I could choose again I‘d probably take the trail towards the Kopa Kondracka peak. From there you can follow the trail towards Malolaczniak and then go down the blue trail until you reach the parking lot. This route would be longer and require a bit more strength, but one can definitely complete it in a day.

Following the red trail, I noticed that it was steeper compared to the way up. At some places going down, we had to hold onto the rocks. I really recommend wearing good mountain shoes for this hike so you would not slip, feel more stable and safer. The same as going up, the views on the way down were amazing. It made us stop, admire, and rest. I even thought that if I had to complete this hike again – I‘d gladly do it.

This route is not too long but really steep in some places. However, if you have just regular physical strength, you can definitely do it.

You can read about the first 2 parts from this trip here:
A Trip to Zakopane: Dolina Białego, Sarnia Skała, Wodospad Siklawica and Dolina Strążyska (I) 
Hiking in Zakopane: Czarny Staw Gąsienicowy lake (II)