The Tatras are the highest of all the Carpathians and the country's only alpine range. It's a region of towering peaks and steep rocky cliffs plunging hundreds of metres into glacial lakes. Winters are long and summers are short and not steamy enough to melt all the snow.
Zakopane is the tourist hub of the Polish Tatras. It's a pleasant town, especially out of the summer and winter holiday periods, and is a good base for skiing or hiking in the mountains. Come when late spring and early autumn straddle the happy valley, there is good weather and fewer visitors.
