A splash of the sea in the Polish mountains, the Sea Eye makes essentially any “best of Poland” list. This turquoise post-glacial lake half-ringed by harsh, rocky peaks and watched over by one of Poland’s most beautiful (but also notoriously crowded) mountain huts, is viewed in some circles as a Mecca-like site, which every true Pole should visit at least once. The popularity of this quintessential Tatra view is aided by its relative accessibility: the lake is connected by a 8.5 km mostly flat paved road with a parking lot at Palenica Białczańska. The road is inaccessible to private vehicles, but Góral entrepreneurs are more than willing to ferry cash-loaded tourists along the route in rustic horse-drawn carts (keep in mind that the lines to sample this local attraction can get ridiculously long).

From here, trails lead to the Black Pond (red trail, 50min), Rysy (red trail, 3h50), and the Five Ponds Valley (yellow trail, 2h). Walking around the Morskie Oko takes 50 minutes.