We spent our second day in Zakopane chilling out on Gubałówka Hill, which is a short distance away from the city centre of Zakopane and accessible on foot. Gubałówka offers commanding views of the Tatra Mountains and it is a highly popular tourist attraction. So popular in fact, that a funicular was built to carry tourists up to the summit of Gubałówka quickly and effortlessly. Alternatively, one could also walk up for free but a steep climb awaits them.
As we were lazy at heart, on top of the inexpensive tickets, we opted for the funicular ride up instead of the all-natural way of using our own two legs. It took a few minutes to travel to the summit.
When we arrived at the summit, we were greeted with a postcard-perfect view of the Tatras. There was even a viewing platform for tourists to admire the scenery properly.
There wasn’t much to do up on the hill except to chill out. There were a number of souvenir shops all selling the same tacky souvenirs, and a handful of horse carriage rides. There were a few farms, especially sheep-rearing ones. Being city dwellers, we were excited to see sheep wandering around and I ventured closer to capture them on my camera. However, the border collie looking after the sheep apparently found our presence threatening, for he got up and dog-glared at us until we backed away.
We walked to a less crowded part of the hill where we then sat on the grass to gaze out at the majestic mountain range looming in the distance. Below are a few pictures that I took during that time.
After we decided that we had enough of sitting down, we walked down the path to explore the rest of the hilltop. Gubałówka is more similar to a ridge, which is like a long and narrow-shaped hill.
Along the way, we also met curious cows peering at us through the rope fence.
Finally, we ended off our day trip to Gubałówka with a sampling of their local specialty of grilled sheep’s cheese, this time with jam on the side. It was much better than yesterday’s, probably because it was still hot and the jam helped to cleanse our palate while eating the cheese.
We concluded our day with dinner in the city centre. The next day, we boarded the bus back to Krakow, where the rest of our Poland adventure continues.
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[…] With that, we ended our first day in Zakopane, exhausted but with a sense of achievement! The next day, we explored a different part of Zakopane – the neighbouring hills which was easily accessible on foot from the town centre – which I will cover in my next post. […]