Cubryński Żleb is one of the most striking and imposing gullies in the High Tatras, cutting deep into the Cubryna massif right above Morskie Oko lake. Even from a distance, it is an impressive sight - steep, wild and commanding respect.

The gully begins in a large depression below Hińczowa Przełęcz pass, where a wide channel filled with reddish scree holds snow until midsummer. Further down it crosses the Wielka Galeria Cubryńska in a shallow, scree-filled channel before forming a deep, narrow canyon with steep walls. Within the grassy Mały Bańdzioch basin it cuts another scree channel, before dropping into Hińczowa Zatoka over a massive vertical step around 60 metres high. In winter this step produces some of the longest ice waterfalls above Morskie Oko, spectacular to look at but of little practical climbing value due to near-constant avalanche danger. In summer, after heavy rain, the step transforms into a huge waterfall. The gully is also well known to TOPR mountain rescuers, as hikers and climbers occasionally fall here - it is a place to admire from a safe distance rather than enter.

• Morskie Oko lake — yellow trail towards Zielony Piarg and further beneath the Cubryna massif, several hours, demanding route for experienced and well-prepared hikers
• Cubryński Żleb has no marked hiking trail — it is best observed from safe viewpoints around Morskie Oko and Zielony Piarg

• This is an extremely dangerous terrain — constant risk of snow and rock avalanches for most of the year
• Not a route for casual hikers — it mainly concerns mountaineers and ice climbers
• The constant erosion of the gully has formed the large Zielony Piarg scree field at its base

Interesting fact: despite the spectacular winter ice waterfalls, their climbing value is minimal precisely because of the ever-present avalanche danger — this is a place better admired from afar than climbed.