Hike between hillside villages in Poland’s forested foothills • Grab your first lunch at a cozy country eatery run by a local artist—the specialty is the pierogi! • Settle into our 1920s abode in Zakopane, Poland’s premier mountain resort town • Ascend into World Heritage Tatra National Park • Hike to a sweeping saddleback ridge that offers panoramic views • Trek across a glacial meadow overshadowed by jagged limestone peaks • Refreshments await at a humble mountain hut. 

Follow a mountain trail from shepherd’s hut to shepherd’s hut and across the border into Slovakia • Traverse alongside the gorge of the Dunajec River, where boatmen ply the waters in traditional wooden flisak boats • Savor a hearty Slovak dinner in tavern-like surroundings with live folk music • Ascend to lofty lakes tucked among the frozen peaks of the Slovak High Tatras • Contemplate humankind’s daredevil ambitions in the peaceful Mountaineer’s Cemetery, a hidden wilderness memorial to those who have lost their lives on the world’s mountains • A stunning balcony traverse with sweeping views is an apt grand finale to our trip • Toast to our week together surrounded by the turn-of-the-century villas (and peak-studded horizon) of charming Starý Smokovec • On our last morning, stretch your legs with a stroll around the lake of Štrbské Pleso before hopping in the shuttle back to Kraków.