Dolina Chochołowska: The Valley of Purple Flowers
Trek with me into the heart of the Tatras mountains in Poland, to discover the beautiful purple crocuses as they cover the valley in a spectacular lilac cosmos.
Hannah Eve
Dolina Chochołowska, under the Tatras Mountains
At the foot of the Tatras mountains in Poland, there is a very special valley called Dolina Chochołowska. It is one of the best places to see purple crocus flowers as they abundantly cover the hillside in a lilac bloom for a few brief weeks between March and April.
We booked in to a small Goral house (Polish mountain house) on the west of Zakopane. The guest house was an abundance of orange pine, with the scent of wood wafting to you at every turn. Out of the bathroom window, the sound of the forest was singing and it looked like we were the only ones staying in the guest house. We hadn’t planned much for the night, but went in search of a traditional restaurant we had been to before on our last trip to Zakopane. Though walking through the main street of the town, both of us couldn’t remember what it looked like or what it was called, so we decided to choose any restaurant that looked like it had good local food and a friendly atmosphere. After walking in to such a place, we realised that we were in fact in that lovely traditional restaurant that we were trying to find. We took our old table and were sat behind a rather large group of animated Americans.
My husband and I both ordered a Highland meat plate, which was an assortment of grilled beef, pork and chicken with a delicious garlic sauce, vegetables and roasted jacket potatoes in foil. The restaurant was the definition of cosy, Polish Folk. The tables were thick with raw wood, and everywhere around the bar hung sheep skins and copper pots and colourful Polish ceramics. The American table seemed as merry and filled as we were and after finishing the delicious meal with a chilled glass of prosecco, the local three-piece band started to play traditional folk music of the mountains, but we wouldn’t be staying for long as we had an early start the next day to begin our trek to Dolina Chochołowska, so it was off to bed for us.
Dolina Chocołowska: The Two Hour Trek
After the ten minute drive from Zakopane, we parked in one of the many car parks, with parking attendants all trying their over-the-top gestures to get us to chose their parking lot. The one closest to the trail start was the one that we took, and at a small fee, we left our car, paid for an entrance ticket and started on the two hour trek into the valley.
At the beginning of the trail, there were a few huts and stalls where we bought some fresh smoked cheese from a sweet Babcia (Grandma) in her red floral headscarf that you often see the elderly women wearing in Poland. With her friendly conversation we were on our way down a very easy road, passing a few small fields that were already full of the pretty crocuses. The morning sun shone on the leftover snow making a white vapour mist drift upward from the ground. The pine trees were dark and tall, and the sound of running water started to get louder as we approached a wide but shallow mountain river.
Along the water edge were dotted many yellow-green plants that looked rather like cauliflowers from another planet and off into the distance all we could see were two lines of woodland and some other walkers, which on this day were very few compared to the many people that can crowd the trail on the weekends. Today being a weekday, we avoided the business of what can often be the case here and walked on.
Usually our son would be happy to hike, but today, he was quite tired and instead opted to be carried by Dad in the toddler carrier which he was getting far too big for. But, today is a much shorter hike, so my husband wouldn’t be too tired, and at the end of the walk, there was a mountain lodge that had a simple canteen with hot traditional Polish food and even rooms and dormitories where you can sleep the night if you so choose to. And if you do so choose to, you can only book by telephone so it is a little insider tip if you want to sleep in the heart of the valley.
After a little toilet break and a stop for snacks of kabonosy (smoked Polish sausage), we carried on along the road that started to incline gradually. Behind the tree line jagged rocks appeared and we came into a wide open pass with a very shadowy forest of tall trees that I joked looked perfect for a Sasquatch video. My husband assures me that they don’t have Sasquatch in Poland but I joke to him that I am not so sure.
The road then became quite bumpy with large cobbled stones. There was the occasional sound of ringing bells as a local Highlander, adorned in his traditional round black felt hat with shells on, rode passengers up the valley and back with a horse and cart.
Behind us the clouds started to get thick and dark. A women ahead turned and took a photo of the foreboding mountain set in between a frame of the dark trees on both sides of the road. Ahead of us the white snowy peaks of the High Tatras loomed over us calling us on, for we were now almost there.
And climbing up, a little steeper but not by much, we finally came into the valley of Chocholowska. Small shepherd huts called bacówka, were dotted all along the sides of the road that led now upward to the mountain lodge hidden behind some trees, and to the right creeping up the hills that sat at the foot of the mountains were the spectacular yet delicate display of the purple crocuses. There they were, like a little lilac cosmos, sprinkling a pretty spray of purple all over the land. When the sun hid behind the changing clouds, the crocuses closed they eyes for a moment and when the sun woke them up again, they all greeted us with a hearty smile.
Up to the lodge, we walked, happily worn out and ready for some food.
I decided to have cooked goulash on potato pancakes with a green tea, my husband got a beer for the electrolytes as he explained, and our son had a tray of chips and two hot chocolates.
After eating dinner, my husband surprised me with a hot apple pudding with berries and soured cream, which verifiably filled me to the brim and we walked off, up the hill, to the small chapel where they had benches outside. I started to take photos of the crocuses up close and as we walked along the fenced path, the sun came out in all his glory and shone on the flowers and the mountains yonder, and yet still the rain did not come. I had prayed that God would keep the rain away for a few more hours and bring the sun out, and how wonderful that I now stood in the blissful shine of the sun, dry and satiated on pancakes and pudding.
We spent some time filming and taking photographs and then decided to head back. The journey back always feels much quicker and we had achieved our mission to see the flowers. Our son was energised now and walked most of the way, though Daddy did have to carry him often. And as soon as we got into the car, after buying a ceremonial fridge magnet and a small pikachu teddy for our son, the rain poured down something terrible and we drove off back to our goral house accommodation.
That night we ate moskole mashed potato pancakes in Zakopane town, and had an early night. The next morning, we took a quick trip up Gubałowska, on the funicular rail and witnessed a breath-taking view of the entire length of the Tatras range as seen on the Polish side. The mountains looked splendid on what was a very clear day. The white peaks stood contrasted to the bright blue sky and I thought about the time we’d come here before and seen only grey clouds on a dreary November day. But today was anything but dreary. After walking around a bit, we went to find a stall to buy sheepskin slippers and socks, and after enjoying some more smoked cheese and cranberry sauce, we started the three hour drive home, happy from our little trip and filled up with that lovely feeling one has when they have been in the mountains for a long walk.
And we didn’t see a bear and I didn’t find a good highlander hat, but we did have a lovely time and I would recommend it to anyone if you can catch those few weeks in the spring. It is well worth it, especially if you’re rather fond of purple.
The View from our Goral House in Zakopane
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