Kasprowy Wierch, located in the Western Tatras, is a prominent peak that forms part of the Poland-Slovakia border. It is a renowned winter ski area, offering a range of activities for ski tourists. The peak’s dominant southern crests, WSW and ESE, serve as a natural demarcation line with Slovakia.
Accessible by foot in most weather conditions and by a daily cable car service, Kasprowy Wierch boasts an aerial tramway that was constructed in the mid-1930s, making it one of the oldest in Europe. Notably, meteorological and astronomical observatories were established here in 1938, with Kazimierz Kordylewski capturing the first photographs of the Kordylewski clouds, a rare lunar phenomenon, in 1961.
Geography
Geographically, Kasprowy Wierch is situated at the intersection of four crests, with two of them coinciding with footpaths, serving as convenient routes between Poland and Slovakia. In the absence of snow, the steep paths leading to both countries in the south and north are easily traversable. The peak itself, located just north of the border, marks the slight apex of these four steep crests, forming a straight line relative to the two dominant ridges.
Crossing the border between Poland and Slovakia is unrestricted due to the Schengen area membership of both countries. Visitors using the cable car have a midway transfer at Mount Myślenicke Turnie during their ascent or descent. At the top station, a large building housing a restaurant, café, and information office awaits, along with additional ski lifts outside.
While Kasprowy Wierch is highly popular among hikers from Poland due to its convenient accessibility by foot or cable car, it receives fewer visitors from the Slovak side. This is primarily due to the challenging 17-kilometer ascent through the remote Tichá dolina valley, starting from the nearest settlement in Slovakia.