Wyżni Kostur (2083 m a.s.l.) is one of the wildest and most inaccessible summits in the High Tatras. Sitting on the Polish-Slovak border ridge of Liptowskie Mury (Liptov Walls), it towers above the iconic Valley of Five Polish Lakes and Slovakia's Ciemnosmreczyńska Valley. If you're drawn to the raw, untamed side of the Tatras, this is the kind of peak that captures your imagination.
The summit is flanked by two cols: Niżnia Liptowska Ławka (2037 m) separates it from the neighbouring Niżni Kostur, while Wyżnia Liptowska Ławka (2059 m) lies between it and Szpiglasowy Wierch. On its northeastern side, a rock wall drops roughly 90 metres onto the Czerwony Piarg scree field in the Valley of Five Polish Lakes — a dramatic drop with stunning views. In summer the ridge glows in contrasting shades of grey rock and green alpine meadows; in winter it transforms into a serious, alpine-grade challenge.
How to reach the summitThe first person to traverse this ridge in summer was Zygmunt Klemensiewicz — one of the founding figures of Polish mountaineering — back in 1905, making Wyżni Kostur a small but meaningful chapter in Tatra climbing history.