High Tatras: Poland and Slovakia

Route description

From Kraków, with the Wawel castle and the market square, it is a short drive to the Wieliczka salt mine, where chapels and statues are carved from salt more than 100 m underground. Visits are guided and popular, so book ahead.

The road south to Zakopane is busy, especially on Fridays and weekends. Zakopane sits at the foot of the Tatras, with wooden villas in the local style and a funicular up Gubałówka for views of the mountains.

For Morskie Oko drive to the Palenica Białczańska car park, which must be booked in advance, then walk or take a horse cart 9 km to the lake. Cross the border at Łysa Polana and follow the road along the southern side of the Tatras to Štrbské Pleso, a mountain lake and resort on the Slovak side.

Continue east past Poprad to Levoča, a walled town whose church holds a tall Gothic wooden altar, and on to Spiš Castle, one of the largest castle ruins in Central Europe. Slovak motorways require an electronic vignette, and parts of the Polish motorways are tolled.