Rysy is another iconic peak of the Tatra Mountains, located on the main ridge along the Slovak–Polish border. It holds several notable distinctions: it is the highest mountain in Poland, the highest border crossing in the Tatras, and the highest—and most frequently visited—peak in the range that can be reached by ordinary hikers on foot, without the use of a cable car or a mountain guide.
Rysy has three summits: the north-western viewpoint summit on the border, the central (main) summit, and the south-eastern summit, which is the lowest. On the Slovak side below the peak lies a group of three glacial lakes known as Žabie plesá, which make an excellent rest stop on the ascent.
As we completed our hike to Krivan, our friend Lubo – “Santo”, just texted us whether we won’t be going to Rysy any soon. As a coincidence Miska wanted to make it too and while I was undecided, Santo became the decisive element.
In the late afternoon on 18th of September we drove from Levice to Strbske pleso, High Tatras. Left our car on an empty main parking space and got a shuttle van to the hut – Chata Pri Popradskom plese. This is very well modernised hut with great kitchen for reasonable prices.
On the Friday morning on the 19th of September, it was already quite cold, at least not raining, so we began the hike at about 7:00 am. Soon we were ascending the Mengusovska valley and reached Žabie plesá. Afterwards there is short part with ladders secured by a chain before you reach very famous hut – Chata Pod Rysmi. It’s the highest-altitude mountain hut in the Tatra Mountains, sitting at 2250m and also the youngest, having been built in 1933.
From there it’s just those last few (250) ascending meters to reach the summits. All 3 peaks offer stunning panoramic views, stretching across the High Tatras onto e.g.: Ťažký štít, Lomnický štít, but also Morskie oko in Poland.
This hike takes from Chata Pri Popradskom plese to Rysy and back to Strbske pleso around 16 km and we managed it in 8 hours, 23mins with 1038 m overall elevation gain.