Morskie Oko – Za Mnichem Valley – Wrota Chalubinskiego (Chalubinskiego Gate Pass)
Difficulty Level: **
Walking Time: 2h 30′ (3,6 km)
683m (2241ft)
71m (233ft)
Climbing Features – NO
Highest Point: Chalubinskiego Gate – 2022m (6634ft) a. s. l
The trail begins at the Wrota Chałubińskiego (Chalubinskiego Gate Pass), on the verge of Dolina Za michem (Za Mnichem Valley). We can reach this place by coming from Morskie Oko along the yellow trail leading to the Szpiglasowa Przełęcz (Szpiglasowa Pass) (approx. 1 hour walk).
From the fork in the trails, we head slightly to the left along a sidewalk labeled in red, weaving among large boulders and soon gain some good views of Rysy, Mieguszowieckie Summits as well as Mnich (Monk), which is a favourite spot for climbers.The trail descends slightly and passes next to Staw Staszica (Staszica Lake) which, in the summer, is almost completely dry. With luck you may hear, and sometimes also see, the marmots whistling.
For a few minutes we trek along the valley, until we reach the gravel path stretching down from the pass. The surroundings are quite murky and opposite to the prevailing views around Morskie Oko.Tearing through rock rubble, the path leads further in short and fairly steep zigzags, over huge slabs with fairly well-shaped steps and handles.
After a little over an hour we finally reach the pass, where a cool breeze from the Slovak side welcomes us. Below, we have the Wielki Staw Ciemnosmreczyński (Great Ciemnosreczynski Lake) while heading up a few more metres, we can see Mnich to the right which isn’t visible from the pass itself, as well as a lovely view of Dolina Za mnichem (Za Mnichem Valley). We return along the same path.
