Western Tatras: Kiry > Ciemniak > Krzesanica

The route from Kiry to Ciemniak and Krzesanica peaks begins with a gentle walk through the Niznia Koscieliska Gate. After a dozen or so minutes you turn left along the red trail, to soon cross the footbridge over the Mietusi Potok creek. This is where a steep, sometimes also slippery approach begins. The trail initially runs through the forest, to gradually loose forest cover and turn into a beautiful scenic route next to the rock formation called Piec. A few-hour walk to Ciemniak is quite exciting. First, in the north, you can see Babia Gora mountain in the distance, and in the east, Giewont mnt and Malolaczniak massif. After several dozen minutes, the view of the Western Tatras opens, and after another, last section of the climb to the top, a panorama of the High Tatras appears. When the visibility is good, the landscapes from the Czerwone Wierchy are truly amazing. Hovewer the fact is that we had to put in a lot of effort to get to the top: I am posting this on the fourth day after the hike and I still have muscle soreness in legs! But the landscapes compensate for everything.

We went for a walk in September. In the middle of the week the weather was perfect. The temperature was optimal, and it was not too windy as well. Throughout the walk from 7 am to 6 pm, there was no single cloud in the sky! Can you imagine better conditions for hiking in the Tatra mountains?

The route from Kiry to Czerwone Wierchy, next to the loop from Wolosate to Halicz and the Krygowski Pass, I consider the most beautiful scenic route that I have had the opportunity to walk.

You can find a trail map with an altitude profile here. The distance was 13.8 km, total ascent was 1309 m, our walking time including rests was 11 h, and the step count was 27,000+.