Rusinowa Polana and Gęsia Szyja: 4 Rewards on One Tatra Trail (the 4th Is Apple Pie)

Po polsku: Rusinowa Polana

This is the loop I recommend to people who have one day in the Tatras, don’t want crowds and still want the „wow”. In about 5 hours you get four rewards: a huge meadow with the best panorama of the High Tatras, a rocky viewpoint, a roaring waterfall, and at the end a slice of apple pie in a mountain hut.

Reward 1: Rusinowa Polana

A wide, sloping meadow with scattered boulders and a wooden shepherds’ hut. In front of you stands the whole wall of the High Tatras and the Belianske Tatras, from Gerlach on the Slovak side to the peaks above Morskie Oko. In autumn the grass turns golden. Near the meadow there’s also a small wooden sanctuary, Wiktorówki, a place of pilgrimage for mountain people.

Reward 2: Gęsia Szyja (1489 m a.s.l.)

From the meadow, wooden steps take you up through the spruce forest to Gęsia Szyja („Goose Neck”), about 40 minutes. At the top there are rocky towers and one of the best views in the area, down to the valleys and across to the main ridge.

Reward 3: Mickiewicz Waterfalls

Go down via the Rówień Waksmundzka meadow to the Roztoka valley and the Wodogrzmoty Mickiewicza, a series of loud cascades right by the road to Morskie Oko. Most people pass them on the way to the lake. You’ll arrive from the quiet side.

Reward 4: apple pie at Roztoka hut

A short walk up the valley from the waterfalls is the Schronisko w Dolinie Roztoki, a cosy old mountain hut. Its szarlotka (Polish apple pie) is a small legend among hikers. You’ve earned it.

The loop

1. Palenica Białczańska (car park) → Rusinowa Polana: green and blue trails, about 1 h 15 min
2. Rusinowa Polana → Gęsia Szyja: about 40 min, steep wooden steps
3. Gęsia Szyja → Rówień Waksmundzka → Wodogrzmoty Mickiewicza: about 1 h 30 min
4. Waterfalls → Roztoka hut → back to Palenica: about 1 h

Want the big lake too? Read Morskie Oko: how to get there. More guides: Kraków & Małopolska in English.

Łukasz, Niezwykła Małopolska