Another proposal for a trip to Trzy Korony, leading through the picturesque Szopczański Gorge. The start and end of the route are in Sromowce Niżne, which is best reached from Szczawnica by car or bus. A walk along the Szopczański Gorge is extremely charming, and the panorama from the top of Trzech Korony is one of the most beautiful in the Polish mountains.
Trail color: yellow – blue
Walking time: 3 h 20 min
Highest point: Trzy Korony (Okrąglica) 982 m above sea level
We start the trip in the center of Sromowce Niżne. Following the yellow signs, we follow an asphalt road closed to car traffic. On the way, we pass the exhibition pavilion of the Pieniny National Park and reach the Trzy Korony mountain shelter. We are constantly accompanied by beautiful views of the Three Crowns peak. Here the road becomes rocky and leads us to the Szopczański Gorge. The path in this section is extremely picturesque, leading between high rocks and along a stream. Then the road enters the forest and leads us with steep steps to the Szopka Pass, also known as the Glory to God Pass (1 h). ), from which you can see the Tatra Mountains when the visibility is good. At the pass the views are nice but somewhat limited.
Next, we choose the blue signs, which take us along a steep path to the plateau under the Three Crowns (35 min). In this place there are numerous benches for resting and ticket offices for the viewing platform on Trzech Korony. After purchasing a ticket, we climb the metal stairs to the highest peak of the Three Crowns - Okrąglica (10 min). From the viewing platform at the top, we can admire a phenomenal panorama of the Tatra Mountains, Podhale, Spiš, Pieniny, Beskid Mountains, Spišská Magura and the Dunajec Gorge.
We go down the same route from the platform, using metal stairs and grates to flatten out at the ticket counters (10 min). We continue along the blue trail, but in the opposite direction to the one we came from. We reach the intersection with the green trail near Ostry Wierch (25 min). Here we change the trail to green, which we follow, mainly through the forest, to the intersection with our yellow trail from the first stage of the hike, near the mountain shelter (1 hour). From here we have a short return to the starting point.
