Czarnostawiańska Przełęcz is a relatively wide pass on the main ridge of the Tatra Mountains, separating the Mięguszowieckie Peaks from the Wołowy Ridge. This is a place for experienced mountaineers rather than casual hikers — rugged, rocky, and full of the Tatras' wild character.

On the Polish side, a rocky-grassy wall cut by gullies drops toward the Upper Czarnostawiański Cirque in the Rybi Potok Valley. On the Slovak side, a partly scree, partly slab depression descends toward the Hińczowa Valley. The pass isn't used as a hiking crossing between valleys, but rather as access to the Wołowy Ridge for climbers. Conditions here vary greatly with the seasons — sun-warmed rock in summer, deep snow in winter, and a strong sense of isolation heightened by the wind.

How to reach the viewpoint

• From Przełęcz pod Chłopkiem — traverse on the Slovak side of Mięguszowiecki Szczyt Czarny, about 30 min, for climbers only
• From the Upper Czarnostawiański Cirque via the eastern wall of Mięguszowiecki Szczyt Czarny, about 2 hours, climbing route
• From the Hińczowa Valley via the south-western depression, about 1 hour from the tarn

Practical information

• Closed area for regular tourists — accessible only for mountaineering
• Several climbing routes of varying difficulty, from 0+ to IV on the Tatra scale

This pass holds the highest known site in the Tatras of a very rare plant, thalictrum alpinum (rutewnik jaskrowaty), found in Poland almost exclusively here. The first climbers reportedly crossed it by accident back in 1886, having lost their way in the fog.