The Kościeliska is a valley in
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
, in
Tatra Mountains
The Tatra Mountains (), Tatras, or Tatra (''Tatry'' either in Slovak () or in Polish () - '' plurale tantum''), are a series of mountains within the Western Carpathians that form a natural border between Slovakia and Poland. They are the hi ...
,
Western Tatras
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
* Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that i ...
, Poland. It stretches from the village of
Kiry, about 9 km, right up to the main ridge of the Tatras. Halfway up is the ''Ornak'' mountain
refuge, built in 1948.
Is reached by road from
Zakopane
Zakopane ( Podhale Goral: ''Zokopane'') is a town in the extreme south of Poland, in the southern part of the Podhale region at the foot of the Tatra Mountains. From 1975 to 1998, it was part of Nowy Sącz Voivodeship; since 1999, it has been ...
- 7 km.
Geography
Near the exit the valley is narrow but farther up it fans out into several lateral branches, above which rise the rounded summits of the Western Tatras, the highest of which is Mt.
Bystrá, on the
Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
side of the frontier.
The upper part of the valley (the Hala Tomanowa and Hala Pyszna) have been constituted as a
strict nature reserve, thus forming a sanctuary for the flora and fauna peculiar to them.
The whole valley is pervaded with the aura of old legends about hidden treasure. There are ancient mining traditions going as far back as the 15th century.
In the 19th century Kościeliska valley was one of the strongest and biggest
metallurgical
Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys.
Metallurgy encompasses both the sc ...
centres in the area; in the neighbouring mountains various metals were found, mainly
silver
Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...
, and later on also
iron ore.
This valley owes its exceptional charm not only to its beauty spots, but also to its numerous forms of characteristic of
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
country:
cave
A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...
s,
well
A well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The oldest and most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The ...
s, shaped
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
s and
crags. There are about 70 larger and smaller caves here, the longest of which are ''Jaskinia Zimna'' (6 km) or ''Jaskinia Wysoka – Za Siedmiu Progami'' (11,5 km), and the deepest ''Jaskinia Miętusia'' (200 m) or ''Bańdzioch Kominiarski'' (570 m).
Among the most interesting tourist spots in the valley are:
* Lodowe Źródło (Icy Spring)
* Jaskinia Mroźna (Frosty Cave), Jaskinia Mylna (False Cave), Jaskinia Raptawicka (Raptawicka Cave)
* Wąwóz Kraków i Smocza Jama (Kraków Gorge with Dragon's Den) - one of the most picturesque part of the valley.
* Hala Pisana (Pisana Alp)
* Staw Smerczyński (Smreczyński Pond)
Trails
In the lover part of the Dolina Kościeliska the red trail branches off Polana Upłaz, and takes one to the summit of Ciemniak (2,090 metres
AMSL), a mountain in the Czerwone Wierchy (Red Mountains) group of peaks. The blue trail leads to the Polana na Stołach. The black path "Ścieżka nad Reglami" leading to Chochołowska Valley.
From the middle section of the valley the green trail leads from the Ornak refuge along the Dolina Tomanowa (Tomanowa Valley) to the Czerwone Wierchy.
Yellow trail leads up to the pass Iwaniacka Przełęcz and thence to the summit Ornak (1,854 metres). Green trail leads to the pass Raczkowa Przełęcz.
About 35 minutes walk along the black trail from the Refuge leads to the mountain pond Smerczyńki - one of the very few in this part of Tatra Mountains.
Top Attractions on the Way
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Gallery
References
External links
Dolina Kościeliska
(pl.)
Przez Dolinę Kościeliską
(pl.)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kościeliska (valley)
Tatra County
Western Tatras
Tourist attractions in Lesser Poland Voivodeship
Valleys of Poland