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Morskie Oko
Morskie Oko is the biggest, and the fourth deepest lake in the Tatra. Covering an area of nearly 35 hectares, it is 860 m long, 560 m wide, and its greatest depth is 50.8 m. Near the edges of the lake, the bottom is strewn with boulders, whereas nearer the centre the bottom is gravel, sand and silt. The water is very clear, and transparent to a great depth. The peaks which ring the lake rise about 1000 m above its surface. One of them, in the left corner of the valley is Rysy (2499 m), the highest peak in the Polish Tatras. There are trout in the lake, a fact which gave it its former name - Rybie Jezioro (Fish Lake). The name Morskie Oko, which means "Eye of the Sea", is derived trom an old legend according to which the lake was connected by an underground passage with the sea. A PTTK mountain refuge stands on the moraine which forms the northern shore of the lake. Morskie Oko is connected with Zakopane by a road 33 km long. There is a regular PKS bus service, via Poronin and Bukowina. The road trom Wierch Poroniec via Zazadnia and Toporowa Cyrhla is somewhat shorter. Motor traffic is allowed only as far Palenica Bia³czañska, where there is a car park. To Morskie Oko about 10 km. Polana W³osienica can also be reached by tourist coach with a PTTK guide. It is about 20 minutes walk from there to the Lake.
Morskie Oko can also be reached by various mountain trails, of which the most popular is the one via Zawrat and the Dolina Piêciu Stawów Polskich (blue trail - about 7 h from Zakopane).
Several tourist trails start from Morskie Oko.
The red one leads to Mt Rysy (approx. 4 h).
The green one (from Czarny Staw) takes one to Miêguszowiecka Prze³êcz pod Ch³opkiem (2307 m - approx. 2.30 h).
The yellow one crosses the col Szpiglasowa Prze³êcz (2114 m) to reach the Dolina Piêciu Stawów Polskich (approx. 3 h).
The blue path also goes to the Dolina Piêciu Stawów Polskich, but via Mt ¦wistówka (approx. 1.30 h).