Atrakcje: Karpacz

What to see in Karpacz? Śnieżka, the Wang Church, the Dziki Waterfall and museums for days when it rains in the mountains.

Karpacz lies at the foot of Śnieżka and copes well with changeable weather. On a good day you choose a trail, a lift or a walk to a waterfall. When clouds come down low, you have exhibitions and play rooms under a roof. Below you will find ideas for both, as well as places for families and a few less obvious stops on the way.

What to see in Karpacz in good weather?

Start with Śnieżka, the Wang Church and the Dziki Waterfall. The first is the highest peak of the Karkonosze, the second a Norwegian stave church under the mountain, the third a popular walking goal in town. Each of these takes a different part of the day.

Śnieżka is 1603.30 metres above sea level and stands on the Polish-Czech border. From the top you see the Jelenia Góra Valley, and in good visibility the panorama reaches over 200 kilometres. On the Polish side the peak belongs to Karpacz and the Karkonosze National Park. The easiest route from the Polish side begins on Kopa: a chairlift called Zbyszek takes you to the summit of about 1377 metres, and from there it is about an hour on foot to Śnieżka.

The Wang Church is a wooden stave church built in Norway at the turn of the 12th and 13th centuries and moved under Śnieżka in 1841-1842. Today it is a parish church of the Evangelical-Augsburg Parish. The Dziki Waterfall is a torrent-control dam on the Łomnica river, built in 1910-1915 after a series of 19th-century floods. On Księża Góra (610 metres) you can see from outside the Zameczek residence, used during the war by Hermann Göring; the summit is closed to visitors.

What to do in Karpacz when it rains?

Go to the museums. For a mountain resort Karpacz has an unusual number: exhibitions about mountain legends, about the Karkonosze with multimedia, about video games, Lego bricks, toys and sport. Several of them stand on Mickiewicza street, so it is easy to join several into one afternoon.

Giant Mountains Mysteries is an underground interactive exhibition on Mickiewicza street, open since 2011, about the Spirit of the Mountains, herbalists, Walloons and legendary treasures. The Multimedia Museum of the Karkonosze replaces display cases with screens, projections and interactive installations, and the ticket includes a coffee tasting from its own roastery. On the same street stands the Video Game Console Museum, opened in 2015, with more than a hundred consoles and computers, a dozen or so of them to play on original hardware.

The Museum of Sport and Tourism is housed in an 18th-century half-timbered house and tells the history of sport, tourism and nature protection in the Karkonosze. We gathered all venues in the category museums.

Where to go in Karpacz with children?

Choose the Fairy Tale Park, the Railway World or the Toy Museum. The first is an open-air area with fairy-tale cottages and a playground, the second a hall with model railways, the third a toy collection in a former station. The last two work well in the rain.

The Fairy Tale Park in Wilcza Poręba covers about 2.5 hectares. Children walk from cottage to cottage, and each tells a different tale: Cinderella or Little Red Riding Hood. There is also a large playground, a miniature Śnieżka to climb, a tunnel with the Spirit of the Mountains' treasure and a summer pontoon track. In the Railway World visitors control trains, switches, bridges and tunnels in Wild West or Frozen-style scenery, and VR goggles offer a virtual ride on an extreme carousel.

The Municipal Toy Museum occupies a historic former railway station building at Kolejowa 3. Its collection was formed in 1995 from the private collection of Henryk Tomaszewski, a mime and founder of the Wrocław Pantomime Theatre, and covers almost three hundred years of toy history. Outdoors, try Saneczkowa Mountain, a 789-metre hill with the longest sled run in town.

Which peaks and waterfalls lie around Karpacz?

Several summits of the Silesian Ridge rise around the town: Turek, Czarna Góra, Suszyca and Rówienka. Higher lie the Silesian Stones and Smogornia. Among waterfalls know Jodłówka and Podgórna in Przesieka. Each goal needs a different level of fitness, so check the weather and trail routes on the national park map first.

Turek is 1003 metres above sea level and lies above Karpacz, between the Płasawa and Łomnica valleys. Czarna Góra (945 metres) rises above Bierutowice, and Suszyca (1062 metres) in a side branch from Smogornia. The Silesian Stones are 1413 metres high and stand on the Polish-Czech border. Smogornia, about 1491 metres, is not directly accessible to hikers. Closer to the centre: Pohulanka (715 metres) with a ski slope on its southern side and Karpatka (727 metres) with rocks and traces of old silver mining.

The Jodłówka Waterfall is small and lies just above Borowice, at about 790 metres, in the Valley of Five Streams. The Podgórna Waterfall in Przesieka is the third highest waterfall in the Polish part of the Karkonosze, with a 10-metre rock step; a black trail from Przesieka to Sosnówka leads to it. Plan trips farther from Karpacz using the lists of Szklarska Poręba or Jelenia Góra attractions.

What else to see in Karpacz beyond the trails?

Look at the Gravity Anomaly and an escape room, because both complement a day on the trails well. The anomaly is a stretch of road in Upper Karpacz where an optical illusion makes objects seem to roll uphill. The escape room is a 60-minute game in several themes, a good idea for rain.

The Gravity Anomaly lies on Strażacka street. A ball put on the road or water poured from a bottle seem to roll uphill, although the road actually descends along the valley slope. The Pokoje Tajemnic escape room offers a 60-minute game, including a room with a Western theme.

Frequently asked questions

What to see in Karpacz in one day?

In the morning go to the Dziki Waterfall and the Wang Church, then ride to Kopa and walk to Śnieżka if the weather helps. When it starts to rain, enter one of the museums on Mickiewicza street.

How do I climb Śnieżka from Karpacz?

The easiest route from the Polish side is the walk from Kopa, reached by chairlift. Another way is the black trail through Biały Jar to the pass under Śnieżka. Check the weather and trail routes before you set off.

What to do in Karpacz when it rains?

Choose a museum: Giant Mountains Mysteries, the Multimedia Museum of the Karkonosze, Video Game Console, Lego, Sport and Tourism or Toys. With children the Railway World also works.

Can I enter Zameczek on Księża Góra?

No. The summit has been closed to visitors for decades, so you see the Zameczek residence from outside, from a distance.

Where to go in Karpacz with children?

To the Fairy Tale Park with cottages and a playground, the Railway World, the Toy Museum or Saneczkowa Mountain with its sled run. There are also the Figlomania inflatable playground and the Fairy Tale Wax Figures Museum.