The Lejowa Valley: the quietest valley in the Western Tatras

It is a Saturday in August, the car park at Siwa Polana filled up at nine, and there is a queue at the ticket windows in Kiry. That is when it helps to know that between those two valleys lies a third that most visitors simply do not know about.

The Lejowa Valley is shorter and plainer than its neighbours. There are no caves to visit and no hut serving pancakes. What it does have is something the others cannot offer in season: quiet.

The Lejowa Valley in figures

Why it is empty

The reason is mundane: the Lejowa has no single great attraction you can sum up in a headline. It does not lead to a hut, it does not end at a lake, and it has no caves open to visitors. So the traffic goes past it, to Kiry and Siwa Polana.

For some people that is a drawback; for others it is the whole point. If you came to the mountains for peace rather than to tick items off a list, this valley gives you exactly what you go to the Tatras for — in the middle of the season.

What you see on the way

The Lejowy stream runs along the valley floor, and the trail leads gently through forest and a series of clearings: Lejówki, Jaworzyna Lejowa, Polana Kuca. At the mouth of the valley stands the distinctive limestone rock Między Ściany, the most recognisable point on the whole route.

There are around fifteen caves in the valley sides, but unlike in the Kościeliska none of them is open to visitors. That is a point of information, not an invitation: entering caves that are not open to the public is forbidden inside the national park.

Ścieżka nad Reglami: the option for walkers

A black trail known as Ścieżka nad Reglami — the path above the forested lower slopes — crosses the area, linking the Kościeliska Valley with the Chochołowska by traversing those slopes. It is the option for anyone who wants to cover a longer distance and join several valleys into one walk.

That makes practical sense when you are staying in Witów: you can plan a day that starts in one valley, crosses the Lejowa and finishes nearer home, without retracing your steps.

Who this valley is for

• For families with small children: the route is short, flat and shaded, and any clearing can be the destination.
• For the day after a long walk in the High Tatras, when your legs need a lighter programme.
• For an August weekend, when the neighbouring valleys are crowded.
• For an afternoon: an hour and a half each way fits comfortably after a late start.
• For photographers looking for shots without people in the background.

Practicalities

The way in is from the Biały Potok clearing, between Witów and Kiry. From Kojsówka it is the nearest of the three valleys described here. The valley lies within Tatra National Park, so an entrance ticket is required, dogs are not allowed and leaving the marked trails is forbidden.

There is no refreshment stop or hut on the route, so take water and something to eat with you. If you are travelling with a dog, the alternative is the trail up Magura Witowska, which starts in Witów, outside the park boundary.

How to fit three valleys into one stay

On a stay of several days it arranges itself naturally. Day one: the Lejowa as a warm-up and a way of getting your bearings. Day two: the Chochołowska, ideally by bike, with a climb to Grześ or Trzydniowiański Wierch. Day three: the Kościeliska, with the caves, Smreczyński Staw and the hut on Hala Ornak.

On the fourth day nobody usually goes anywhere. What is left is the garden, the hot tub and the river. It is the most common pattern we see among our guests, and frankly the best one.