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Record visitors to Poland's Tatra mountains

04.08.2025 12:00
More than 2.8 million people hiked the trails of Poland’s southern Tatra Mountains in the first half of this year, setting a new record for the Tatra National Park, officials said.
Photo:
Photo: PAP/Grzegorz Momot

From January to June, a total of 2,841,000 entries were recorded on trails within the park, according to data released last month by the Tatra National Park (TPN).

In June alone, nearly 569,000 people visited the area.

“The Tatras are extraordinary—small but incredibly diverse and ecologically unique," said TPN Director Szymon Ziobrowski. “Their popularity comes as no surprise.”

However, he added that the high volume of visitors is placing growing pressure on both the natural environment and park infrastructure.

Ziobrowski said the park is seeing a steady increase in tourism, including a strong rebound in international visitors following the COVID-19 pandemic.

"This is a global trend, and in many cases, numbers are surpassing pre-2020 levels," he said.

He welcomed the growing interest in active, outdoor recreation. "Spending time in the mountains is healthy and essential," he said.

To mitigate environmental impact, the park is implementing measures to better manage visitor flow and protect fragile ecosystems, Polish state news agency PAP reported.

The most visited destination in the first half of 2025 was Kasprowy Wierch, a popular peak accessible by cable car, which drew more than 253,000 people.

Kolejka linowa na Kasprowy Wierch w Tatrach, 15.03.2021 Kasprowy Wierch, one of the most popular peaks in the Tatra Mountains, is accessible by cable car. Photo: PAP/Grzegorz Momot 

Another 241,000 hiked the route toward Morskie Oko, a scenic lake, while over 210,000 visited the Kościeliska Valley.

Lake Morskie Oko, a popular tourist attraction in Poland's southern Tatra Mountains. Lake Morskie Oko, a popular tourist attraction in Poland's southern Tatra Mountains. Photo: Maksym Kozlenko, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Digital ticketing is also gaining traction, with nearly 383,000 people purchasing e-tickets to skip lines at park entrances.

An additional 105,000 visitors entered for free using Poland’s "Large Family Card" benefit.

In the first half of last year, 1.79 million people visited the park. The entire year of 2024 saw a record 5.1 million entries, up from 4.5 million in 2023. In 2015, that number was just 3.2 million.

Poland’s section of the Tatras includes 275 kilometres of marked hiking trails ranging from easy family routes to challenging climbs secured with chains, ladders and metal steps.

Trails are marked with five colours: black, red, green, blue and yellow.

(gs)

Source: IAR, PAP