Tatra Mountains in Poland: Karol Nienartowicz’s Photos, Lakes and Trails

The Tatra Mountains are the highest range in the Carpathians and the wildest corner of Poland: granite peaks, deep glacial lakes, chamois on the ridges and snow that stays for half the year. Polish mountain photographer Karol Nienartowicz has spent years climbing and photographing them, in every season and every kind of light.

Mountain lake beneath steep Tatra slopes and heavy clouds – photograph by Karol Nienartowicz — A dark lake gives the opening view a strong centre. Credit: Karol Nienartowicz.

Tatra Mountains: facts and geography

The Tatras run along the border between Poland and Slovakia. The range is only about 57 km long in a straight line (around 80 km along the main ridge) and 19 km wide, yet it packs in a truly alpine landscape. Of its roughly 785 square kilometres, about 78 percent lies in Slovakia and 22 percent in Poland.

Highest peak: Gerlachovský štít, 2,655 m, entirely in Slovakia.
Highest point in Poland: Rysy, about 2,499 m, on the Polish–Slovak border.
Protected areas: Slovakia's Tatra National Park (TANAP) was founded in 1949 and Poland's Tatra National Park (TPN) in 1954. Together they form a UNESCO transboundary biosphere reserve.
Wildlife: Tatra chamois, Alpine marmots, brown bears, wolves and Carpathian lynx, among 43 mammal species and about 200 bird species.

Tatra Mountains in Poland – photograph by Karol Nienartowicz (1) — Photo: Karol Nienartowicz

Tatra Mountains in Poland – photograph by Karol Nienartowicz (2) — Photo: Karol Nienartowicz

Snow-covered Tatra ridge lit by warm low sunlight – photograph by Karol Nienartowicz — Warm light picks out the edge of a wintry ridge. Credit: Karol Nienartowicz.

Morskie Oko and the Tatra lakes

The glaciers that carved the Tatras left behind dozens of lakes, and Nienartowicz returns to them again and again because still water doubles the mountains. The most famous is Morskie Oko, the "Eye of the Sea", at 1,395 metres. It covers about 35 hectares, reaches 50.8 metres deep and is ringed by peaks that rise about 1,000 metres above its surface. The Wall Street Journal once named it one of the five most beautiful lakes in the world.

Morskie Oko lies about a two-hour walk from the nearest public road, and many visitors ride up in horse-drawn carts. Above it, the lake of Czarny Staw pod Rysami feeds Morskie Oko and marks the start of the climb to Rysy from the PTTK mountain hut.

Tatra Mountains in Poland – photograph by Karol Nienartowicz (3) — Photo: Karol Nienartowicz

Tatra Mountains in Poland – photograph by Karol Nienartowicz (4) — Photo: Karol Nienartowicz

Tatra Mountains in Poland – photograph by Karol Nienartowicz (5) — Photo: Karol Nienartowicz

Tatra Mountains in Poland – photograph by Karol Nienartowicz (6) — Photo: Karol Nienartowicz

Hiking in the Tatras: trails and seasons

Zakopane, known as the "winter capital of Poland", is the main base on the Polish side, with a cable car up Kasprowy Wierch (1,987 m), a peak where snow cover has reached 388 cm. From the town, marked trails lead into valleys, to mountain huts and up to the ridges.

The famous Orla Perć, the "Eagle's Path", built between 1903 and 1906, is the most difficult and dangerous trail in the range, and more than 100 people have died on it. Seasons differ across the border. Polish trails are open year-round, while most Slovak trails close from 1 November to 31 May, leaving only the routes up to the huts open. In winter, go with a guide, and check avalanche and weather reports before heading above the treeline.

Tatra Mountains in Poland – photograph by Karol Nienartowicz (7) — Photo: Karol Nienartowicz

Tatra Mountains in Poland – photograph by Karol Nienartowicz (8) — Photo: Karol Nienartowicz

Stone path winding towards Tatra peaks under broken cloud – photograph by Karol Nienartowicz — The path introduces a human scale to the open mountain setting. Credit: Karol Nienartowicz.

Tatra Mountains in Poland – photograph by Karol Nienartowicz (9) — Photo: Karol Nienartowicz

Karol Nienartowicz: photographing light in the Tatras

Nienartowicz's pictures work because he waits for light. A narrow strip of evening sun can pick out a single snowy ridge while the rest of the range stays blue. A stone path leads the eye towards the peaks, a snowy forest track slows the pace between panoramas, and cloud pouring through a rocky pass hides what comes next. Read the story of his repeated climbs in his first decade photographing the Tatras, and for another way of spending the night in the mountains see Simon Trnka’s sleeping-bag photographs.