Kocioł Kasprowy is the upper level of the Zielona Gąsienicowa Valley, tucked right below the summit of Kasprowy Wierch. It's a place where summer winds sweep across rocky, grassy slopes, and winter belongs entirely to skiers gliding down from the cable car station.

The basin has the character of a sloping, rocky-grassy cauldron carved from crystalline rock, surrounded by the slopes of Uhroć Kasprowy, Kasprowy Wierch, Sucha Przełęcz and Beskid. Lower down it narrows into a distinctive neck called Szyjka, from which a small stream flows - the only water in this otherwise dry basin. In summer it's a wild, stony landscape with raw beauty, while in winter it turns into a true snow kingdom - the Gąsienicowa chairlift cuts right through the basin, and the slope fills with skiers descending from Kasprowy Wierch, sometimes during ski competitions.

How to get there

• Kuźnice - via the trail through Dolina Gąsienicowa towards Kasprowy Wierch, moderate difficulty
• Ski descent via Trasa Gąsienicowa from Kasprowy Wierch through Kocioł Kasprowy down to Kuźnice - a popular winter ski route

Practical information

• In winter the area is heavily used by skiers, so watch for slope traffic
• Home to the rare Lachenal's sedge, a species found in Poland only in the Tatras

Kocioł Kasprowy is also known as Kocioł Gąsienicowy or Sucha Dolina Stawiańska - though this last name is almost forgotten today.