Zakopane travel guides
Browse and explore the best travel guides in Zakopane.
Zakopane travel facts
Zakopane is Poland's highest town, spread between roughly 750 and 1,000 metres in a valley between the Tatra Mountains and the Gubałówka ridge, in the Podhale region of Lesser Poland Voivodeship. Around 27,000 people live there and several million visitors pass through each year. It is the centre of Góral highlander culture, which shows in the timber architecture, the smoked sheep's-milk oscypek sold along Krupówki street, and the folk music played in the taverns.
The nickname of winter capital is earned. The cable car from Kuźnice climbs 936 metres to Kasprowy Wierch at 1,987 metres, where two treeless bowls hold the most serious lift-served skiing in the country. Nosal, Gubałówka and Butorowy Wierch handle gentler terrain closer to town. Because Kasprowy Wierch lies inside Tatra National Park there is no artificial snowmaking on those slopes, and daily cable car capacity is capped.
Kraków is roughly 100 kilometres north, about two hours by road, and Kraków-Balice Airport (KRK) is the usual gateway. Frequent coaches and trains run to Zakopane station on ul. Chramcówki. Summer is as busy as winter here, with hikers heading for Morskie Oko and the Giewont ridge, and the Krupówki area becomes genuinely crowded during Polish school holidays and the New Year period.
Country
Poland
Region
Podhale, Tatra County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship
Population
~27,000
Elevation
750-1,000 m town; Kasprowy Wierch 1,987 m
Time Zone
CET (UTC+1) / CEST (UTC+2)
Currency
Polish Złoty (PLN)
Language
Polish, with the Góral dialect spoken locally; English common in tourist areas
Nearest Airport
Kraków-Balice (KRK), ~100 km; Katowice (KTW), ~170 km
Airport to Town
~2 hours by road from Kraków; regular coaches and PKP trains from Kraków
Typical Cost Level
Budget to mid-range
Transport Pass
Tatra National Park trailhead entry ticket; separate lift tickets for Kasprowy Wierch, Nosal and Gubałówka
Spring (Mar-May)
0-16 C, snow lingers high, lower trails turn muddy
Summer (Jun-Aug)
10-22 C, peak hiking season and heavy crowds
Autumn (Sep-Nov)
1-15 C, clearest walking weather in September
Winter (Dec-Feb)
-8 to 2 C, ski season with intense New Year crowds
Zakopane travel guides
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Entry rules, stay length and passport validity by nationality.
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