Wielki Staw ('Great Pond') is the largest glacial cirque lake in the Karkonosze Mountains and one of the most breathtaking natural landmarks in the entire Sudetes range. Sitting at 1,225 m above sea level in a dramatic glacial cirque on the north-eastern slopes of Smogornia, its crystal-clear water and raw alpine surroundings make it a place you won't easily forget.

The lake covers over 8 hectares and reaches a maximum depth of 24.4 m. Its shores are fringed with subalpine vegetation — dwarf pine, dwarf birch and Lapland willow — giving the whole basin a wonderfully wild feel. For most of the year the lake is frozen over, and even in summer the water temperature rarely climbs above 14°C. The views down into the cirque from the ridge trails — especially in autumn when the scrub turns gold and crimson — are simply spectacular.

• Szklarska Poręba — red trail (Main Sudeten Trail) heading towards Śnieżka, running along the upper rim of the cirque.
• Karpacz — green trail, following the upper north-western rim of the cirque.

• The area immediately around the lake is a strict nature reserve — access to the shore is prohibited.
• Wielki Staw can only be admired from the upper rim of the cirque, along the marked hiking trails.
• The area is part of the Karkonosze National Park — national park rules apply.

The lake is home to the quillwort — a rare glacial relict plant — as well as the alpine newt at its highest recorded site in the Karkonosze, and a melanistic form of the common toad. A true living relic of the Ice Age.