Na Stołach Glade Kościeliska Valley

Nature

Po prawej drzewa i płynąca rzeka, która zakręca za drzewami. Po lewej za trawami rosnącymi nad brzegiem rzeki droga kamienista i dwoje turystów, za którymi strome zbocze i drzewa. Na wprost ludzie idący po drodze, polana z kilkoma choinkami i zalesiona góra po lewo. W tle dwa zbocza wysokich, zalesionych gór. Nad nimi pochmurne niebo.

34-511 Kościelisko Tourist region: Tatry i Podhale

Also referred to briefly as ‘Stoły’, a high mountain glade located at around 1,300 metres above sea level, above the Kościeliska Valley. The blue trail from the Kościeliska Valley leads to the Na Stołach Glade. It is the first marked hiking trail in the Western Tatras, established back in 1892 by Mieczysław Karłowicz. Walking time is approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes.

‘Stoły’ is a large shepherd's hut, located on the eastern slope of a small mountain massif, roughly halfway down the Kościeliska Valley. Its highest point is 1,417 metres above sea level, some 450 metres above the valley floor. The name of the clearing probably derives from its table-like flatness (it’s flat, but it unquestionably rests at an angle) or from the word 'adit', as there were many iron ore mines in the area around the clearing. In the past, it was also used for grazing sheep. It was home to over a dozen shepherd's huts; only three remain today. Wacław Krzeptowski, one of the leaders of the Goralenvolk (a movement to Germanise Podhale during World War II) used one of the huts to hide out from AK soldiers in 1944. The huts that currently exist in the Table Glade are protected. They are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The huts are low-slung wooden buildings with distinctive roofs, protected from strong gales by special sheds – wooden frames atop the roofs and weighted down with stones. In the lower part, called the milking parlour, the sheep were milked and kept during the cold nights.

The blue trail leading from Ice Spring provides access to the clearing and the hall's wooded summit. This easy, not-too-long route can be a good way to start your Tatra adventures.