Jastrzębia Valley is one of those High Tatras valleys you cannot actually hike into — and that is exactly what makes it so fascinating. This hanging glacial valley branches off from the Green Kežmarok Valley, separated from it by a steep, vertical rock step known as the Jastrzębie Falls (Jastrzębie Spady).

The landscape here is raw and rocky, typical of the high-alpine, glacially carved corners of the High Tatras. The valley is enclosed by distinctive ridges and peaks: the short Jastrzębia Ridge with Jastrzębia Peak separates it from the neighboring Lamb Valley (Jagnięca Valley), the main Tatra ridge divides it from Kołowa Valley and Black Jaworowa Valley, while the northeastern arm of Czarny Peak, called the Black Ridge, marks its southern boundary. It is a wild, untouched place, closed off from human interference, giving it a truly primeval atmosphere.

Although you cannot walk into the valley itself, it can be admired from a well-known hiking trail nearby.

How to get there

• Tatra Trail (Magistrala Tatrzańska) — offers views over the empty, rocky landscape of Jastrzębia Valley without entering it directly

Practical information

• Jastrzębia Valley is closed to tourists — there is no marked trail leading into it
• It can only be admired from a distance, along the Magistrala Tatrzańska route

The first recorded visit to the valley was an expedition led by Stanisław Staszic with local guides in 1804, and the first winter ascent was made by Gyula Hefty and István Laufer in 1912 — today it remains a place reserved for the most determined climbers, glimpsed by ordinary hikers only from afar.