Roztoka Valley – Valley of Five Polish Ponds

Located among majestic peaks of High Tatras, Valley of Five Polish Ponds is a destination of many trips. We must bear in mind though, that this hike requires good physical condition.

A trail leading from Wincenty Pol's PTTK Shelter goes through Roztoka Valley's bottom. Going uphill among beautiful spruces, after around 15 minutes, we get to the Mickiewicz's Waterfalls region, where our trail connects with path to Morskie Oko. After a while, we go into the forests again. At first our track leads sharply uphill, however after fifteen minutes it becomes flat, going a little easier through bridges on Roztoka Stream. On the right side we see slopes of a hilly Wołoszyn, on the left – western hillsides of Opalony.

After around 1 hour 30 minutes march we get to the Nowa Roztoka Clearing, which we recognise thanks to the hut standing here. From here it takes around 1 hour 30 minutes to Great Polish Pond by green trail. We shall decide from which side to get to the Valley of Five Polish Ponds in 30 minutes from here, at the trail crossing. From this point, the green trail goes stright, leading through the region of impressive Tatra waterfall – Siklawa (around 40 m). The alternative trail, black color, turns left and with tall, stone steps guides us directly to the shelter. It takes one hour on green path, and 40 minutes on the black one. At summer we can easily choose both, ascending with first, and descending with another. If we'll continue on green trail, we must remember that Siklawa trails are a little more challenging, so we should place our steps carefully. For several minutes it leads through large, round boulders, where slipping hazard is high. After around 50 minutes from trail crossing we get to the Great Polish Pond region, which lies at Valley of Five Polish Ponds. It's around 10 minutes from here to the shelter. It's worth mentioning that the shelter is the highest located structure of this kind in Poland, reaching the height of 1672 MASL.