Licensed Tatra Mountain Guides - Łukasz and Karolina
Łukasz and Karolina - licensed Class III Tatra mountain guides
We're two licensed Class III Tatra mountain guides - Karolina Gac and Łukasz Ryłko. We've hiked the Tatras since we were children. We learned these mountains over a lifetime, long before guiding became our job. We lead tours on every marked trail in the Polish and Slovak Tatras, all season long. What we love most is being high up, in the High Tatras - it's on the harder, more demanding trails that we're truly in our element. We'll show you the mountains as they really are: with solid knowledge of the route, nature and history, plus the technique you need on difficult terrain, and without promises no one can keep up here.
Meet your guides
Karolina Gac
Class III Tatra mountain guide, ski instructor
I'm a licensed Tatra mountain guide and ski instructor. My mountain adventure began in childhood and continues to this day - in summer I lead trekking tours, and in winter ski touring trips too. Cave mountaineering and climbing are my hobbies. I want every trip to be more than just a walk along a trail - a chance to get to know the mountains up close: their history, their nature, their everyday rhythm. What matters to me is that people come back not only with beautiful photos, but above all with the feeling that they truly sensed what makes these mountains special.
- Licence no.
- PGT/30/24
- Ski instructor
- SITN, member no. 9939
- Tour language
- Polish, English
Łukasz Ryłko
Class III Tatra mountain guide
The mountains are far more than a job to me - I've walked the Tatras since I was a child, and it's high up, on the harder trails, that I feel most at home. In my free time I run in the mountains, and beyond the Tatras I've gone looking for my own trails in the Julian Alps and the Dolomites. On a tour I never race the group; I set the pace to the people, not to myself. What I enjoy most is the moment someone gets through a stretch of trail they were afraid of and can't quite believe they made it. Outside of guiding I work in technology and automation, but it's in the mountains that I feel I'm where I belong.
- Licence no.
- PGT/31/24
- Tour language
- Polish, English
Who we guide
The Tatras are for all kinds of people and all levels of fitness. Tell us who's coming and how you'd like to walk - we'll match the route.
Families with children
We guide plenty of tours with children, most often around 7-8 years old. To start, we recommend gentle but scenic routes: the Kościeliska Valley, Rusinowa Polana, or the Strążyska Valley with the Siklawica waterfall. Once the children build up stamina - Morskie Oko, Hala Gąsienicowa with Czarny Staw, and in time the Valley of Five Lakes.
Older walkers
We head into the mountains with older walkers too. We slow the pace, plan more breaks, and match the route to the group - from quiet valleys to easier summits. If you're not sure whether a route is within your reach, write or call us - we'll advise before you book. There's no rush in the mountains.
Experienced hikers and demanding routes
Already have the fitness and a head for exposure? We'll guide you on the most demanding routes in our offer - Rysy, Świnica, Orla Perć, Zawrat, or the Slovak side of the Tatras. On the harder, exposed sections we provide safety equipment so you can get through them confidently and safely.
Groups and companies
We work with organised groups, companies, and travel agencies - international ones too. We focus on one thing: professional, safe mountain guiding.
Partnership detailsWinter in the Tatras
Winter doesn't end the season - it changes it. We run tours in winter too, and along the way we teach how to move safely through snow-covered mountains.
Winter tours
We take clients into the winter Tatras - including the Western Tatras - fully equipped: ice axe, crampons, helmet, and an avalanche safety kit (transceiver, probe, shovel).
Avalanche terrain
We show how to recognise avalanche danger, how to avoid it, and how to choose a safe line through snow-covered terrain.
Winter skills
On winter tours we teach the basics of moving on snow and ice: how to walk confidently in crampons, how to self-arrest with an ice axe after a slip, and how to use an avalanche transceiver, probe and shovel. This is knowledge that genuinely makes you safer in winter.
Ski touring with Karolina
Karolina - a ski instructor - leads winter ski touring trips: steady ascents, route choice matched to conditions and ability, and descents away from groomed slopes. A good option if you want to combine the winter Tatras with skiing.
Safety and responsibility
Safety in the mountains isn't about promises - it's about clear rules. Here are ours.
Marked trails only
We guide exclusively on marked trails in the Polish and Slovak Tatras, within our Class III licence. We leave the trail only when safety calls for it.
We keep training
We take part in avalanche training regularly, but we don't stop there - we keep broadening our knowledge of the terrain, the weather, and safety in the mountains. We believe the mountains take a lifetime to learn.
Gear and insurance
On selected, more demanding routes we provide safety equipment - helmets, harnesses, and lanyards. We also carry liability insurance.
Running the tour
If one of us can't guide, the other steps in - and if needed, a trusted guide we know well. We do our best to be there with you in person on every tour.
We both belong to the Maciej Sieczka Tatra Guides Association in Kraków.
How we guide
A guided tour is not a race. We set the pace to the slowest person in the group, take breaks where they're needed, and tell you plainly what to expect on the trail. We genuinely enjoy talking with people - sharing the nature, the history and the weather, passing on what we know and our passion for the mountains. Nothing makes us happier than watching someone push past their own limits and stand higher than they expected.
