The Sub-Tatra Trench is a wide, sweeping valley nestled right at the foot of the Tatra Mountains, sitting between 700 and 1000 metres above sea level. If you want to soak in the drama of the High Tatras without tackling their steepest ridges, this is the place to start — a gentle, open landscape with one of the most spectacular mountain backdrops in Central Europe.

The trench stretches for some 20 km across a broad depression, separating the Choč and Tatra Mountains from the Spiš–Gubałówka Highlands. The valley floor is laced with clear mountain streams — the Czarny Dunajec and the Zakopianka and Poroniec, which together feed the Biały Dunajec. The western and eastern edges of the trench are draped in forest, while the central parts open into wide meadows and gravel fans shaped by ancient glacial rivers. In spring and summer the views of the Tatra wall rising sharply to the south are simply breathtaking; in winter a blanket of snow transforms the whole region into a quiet, frost-sparkled wonderland.

• Zakopane — the main hub of the region, excellent base for exploring the trench and surrounding valleys; well-connected by bus and road
• Kościelisko, Małe Ciche, Murzasichle — charming villages within the trench, great starting points for walks into the nearby valleys

The ground beneath your feet here tells a fascinating story: the trench is built from Eocene marlstone slates known as Podhale Flysch, and the Zakopane Valley alone preserves three distinct gravel layers laid down during three separate Ice Age glaciations — a geological record stretching back tens of thousands of years.