Gubałówka on foot: the black trail along the funicular, about 1.5 km and 50 minutes up. Where to start, microspikes in winter, Butorowy Wierch and the ride down.
Author: Konrad Leśniak5 min read
I’ve walked up Gubałówka twice. In September 2024 it was a rest day in the middle of the holiday: a few viewpoints, a picnic, lying around, ice cream and a great kwaśnica (sauerkraut soup). In September 2026 I walked up again instead of taking the funicular – and honestly, the climb isn’t as trivial as it looks from below. It’s a good way to test your fitness before longer routes.
💡 In a nutshell – Gubałówka on foot:
- Trail: black, from the lower funicular station, along the tracks. About 1.5 km and about 300 m of ascent.
- Time: about 50 min up, about 20–30 min down.
- No TPN ticket – Gubałówka lies outside Tatra National Park, so the TPN night ban doesn’t apply here either.
- In winter: the path can be icy – microspikes help.
- At the top: a Tatra panorama, a promenade, and the Papal Trail to Butorowy Wierch. You can ride the funicular down.
You start at the lower station of the Gubałówka funicular, a few minutes’ walk from Krupówki. The black trail climbs alongside the funicular tracks, on the left side (looking uphill). On the way you can watch the cars passing on the track – the best motivation not to stop every few metres.
The climb is about 1.5 km and about 300 metres of height gain. Sounds harmless, but the trail is fairly steep with hardly any flat sections. The map says about 50 minutes up – in heat or with children, allow more.
A few years ago this trail was the subject of a dispute: part of the old ski slope was private land and walkers were charged to cross it, and the path was fenced off at times. PTTK and PKL marked a new, free route on the left side of the tracks, and in 2023 a court in Zakopane confirmed the trail may run there. Follow the markers – and don’t let anyone talk you into a “shortcut for a few złoty”.
At the summit you get one of the best-known Tatra panoramas: from the Western Tatras past Giewont to the High Tatras, with all of Zakopane below. A promenade with stalls, restaurants and attractions runs along the ridge – crowded in season, but walk a few hundred metres away and it gets quieter.
That’s what we did in September 2024: viewpoints, a picnic on the grass and a rest with mountain views, finished off with kwaśnica. A good idea for a rest day between longer routes, or for a day when the weather in the high Tatras is uncertain.
More places with a view and little walking: the best viewpoints in Zakopane.
From Gubałówka you can carry on west along the ridge on the Papal Trail. After about 20 minutes you reach Pająkówka, then Butorowy Wierch, where a chairlift runs down to Kościelisko. It’s an easy, scenic and almost flat walk.
You can return:
The lifts close from time to time for technical inspections, so check opening hours on the PKL website before you go.
In winter, Gubałówka is one of the few “mountain” walks where you don’t have to think about avalanche risk or TPN closures. But the steep black trail gets polished quickly – packed snow and ice on the way down are the main problem here. Microspikes in your backpack make a big difference, especially going down.
If you don’t have microspikes, walk up and ride the funicular down – descending on ice is much harder than climbing.
Anyone who wants to see the Tatras from above without entering high-mountain terrain: families with children who walk on their own, beginners, and people who want to test their fitness before longer routes. It’s not a pushchair route – the black trail is too steep.
If you liked Gubałówka, for another easy day see Sarnia Skała in winter or Białego Valley in winter.
By the black trail from the lower funicular station, about 50 minutes up (about 1.5 km, about 300 m of ascent). Going down takes about 20–30 minutes.
The black trail is free and you don’t need a TPN ticket, as Gubałówka is outside the national park. Only the funicular ride costs money.
Yes. The trail can be icy, so microspikes are worth having, especially for the descent. You can also walk up and ride down.
Gubałówka is outside TPN, so the national park’s dog ban doesn’t apply here. Keep your dog on a lead and clean up after it.
The Papal Trail runs along the ridge via Pająkówka to Butorowy Wierch, where a chairlift goes down to Kościelisko.
Photos from both walks: Gubałówka on foot – September 2026 and September 2024.
What about you – funicular or on foot?
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Białego Valley in winter: about 2 h of walking straight from Zakopane, Biały Stream under snow, icy footbridges, microspikes and how to handle the short day.
Sarnia Skała in winter: the Strążyska – Sarnia – Białego loop in about 3 h, where it gets icy, whether to take microspikes and how to beat the dark. December photos.
Kościeliska Valley in winter: how long from Kiry to Hala Ornak and Smreczyński Pond, whether to take microspikes, what is closed and how to avoid the sleighs.
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