Karkonosze National Park

What makes it special

The park protects the highest part of the Sudetes, and its Polish side is the wilder one. The northern face breaks into glacial cirques with sheer walls that could pass for the Alps. Glaciers filled these bowls thousands of years ago, and two of them still hold mountain ponds.

Wielki Staw lies under strict protection, so you see it only from the path above. Mały Staw sits under walls up to 200 m high. From the path along the rim, the pond, its two huts and Śnieżka line up in one view.

The cirques also hold the park's richest plant life. Look for Campanula bohemica, a small bellflower found nowhere but these mountains.

The park's lowest point is Mount Chojnik, where a medieval castle stands on a crag of granite.

Visiting

Buy your park ticket at the sale point beside the trail or online. Then start at the Wang church on the blue trail, or at the Biały Jar bus stop on the green one through the Pląsawa valley. Both climb through forest to Polana, where picnic tables stand and the main ridge first shows clearly.

From there the path climbs steeply and soon leaves the trees for dwarf pine. At the Wielki Staw cirque the path runs along the rim of both bowls, then drops to the Samotnia hut on the shore of Mały Staw.

The whole loop is about 16 km on cobbles, stone and steps, so a pushchair will not manage it.

In Karpacz, the Laborant's House has a touch model whose buttons play animations of how ten landforms were formed. It keeps daytime hours, on weekdays or Tuesday to Saturday depending on the season, and shuts all November.

Guided or on your own

Walking alone on the marked trails is the norm, and individual hiking is allowed year-round. Organised groups, up to 50 at a time, must be led by a licensed mountain guide authorised for the Sudetes. The park recommends guides who also hold its own Karkonosze National Park certificate, so ask to see it before you hire one.

Tips

Carry cash as well as a card, because not every ticket point takes cards. A guard met on the trail can sell you a ticket if you lack one. In an emergency, call mountain rescue on 985 or use the RATUNEK app.

Stay behind the fences on the high ground: they protect fragile alpine turf. A chain across a viewpoint or path means stop, and swimming in Mały Staw is banned.

If your dates are flexible, entry is free on 16 January, 24 May and 10 August.