High Tatras Village Is a Pole Apart : Separated by mountains from the Polish lowlands, Zakopane offers a unique centuries-old charm.

ZAKOPANE, Poland —  This charming little town in the Tatra Mountains, which Poland shares with Slovakia, is a favorite winter-summer playground for Poles. Yet few Polish women would choose to live here full-time if they had to observe one of the area’s quaint and centuries-old traditions every year.

At Easter, many of Zakopane’s housewives and their daughters dutifully get out the buckets, brushes and ladders in preparation for washing their houses, while the men work the fields. This isn’t your basic spring cleaning within, either, but a complete scrub-down of the gigantic, raw-wood logs that make up the houses’ exteriors, many of them more than two centuries old.

This year the weather was still near freezing at Easter, so the big cleanup was postponed until early June, and the few streets in town and in neighboring villages came alive with shouts, laughter and what must have been a few curses as water sloshed from buckets, brushes flew across timbers and the old logs took on new luster by nightfall.

Only about 20% of the Tatras are on the Polish side of the frontier, but the scenery is as dramatic as anywhere in Europe. Snowcapped peaks, endless mountain meadows, pristine air, streams and waterfalls give the Tatras a primeval air that is a hiker’s paradise. Wild boar, deer, chamois and other game roam the forests, and anyone may drink safely from the streams and lakes.

A village since 1578, Zakopane’s remote location has preserved a distinct highlands’ folklore that is one of the most cherished in Poland. The colorfully filigreed costumes of men and women are gorgeous, and it’s not unusual to see them worn on non-festival days. Walk through the outdoor flea market (selling everything from beautiful woolen shawls and handsome handicrafts to used car batteries) and you’ll see more babushkas than anywhere else this side of the Russian steppes, all framing ruddy faces.

Perhaps the most brilliant showcase for these glorious costumes is a performance of the Robbers Dance, a souped-up version of Scotland’s highland fling with a bit of the Bolshoi ballet and Olympic gymnastics thrown in.

Zakopane (pronounced Zah-ko-pah-nay) also has its own style of architecture in the steeply gabled log houses and churches, many of the latter dating from the 15th Century, all resembling old woodcuts from a book of fairy tales.

How long/how much? Give Zakopane and surrounding villages of the Tatras at least two days, more if you’re there for hiking, rafting and other outdoor pursuits. We found lodging costs moderate by any standard, and excellent dining that is laughably low cost, even allowing for Poland’s normally budget-friendly prices.

Getting settled in: Zajazd Tatrzanski (the Tatras Inn) couldn’t be more aptly named, a small wooden place with steep gables set among fir and pine trees in the shadow of the mountains. Walls of the nine bedrooms are squared logs of raw wood, caulked with wood shavings and festooned with game heads and mountain birds. Some rooms have balconies with views of the Tatras. But there are only two communal baths on each of the three floors. Still, there is a sauna and tiny indoor pool for getting kinks out from hiking or skiing, and the inn is a true delight.

The Orbis Giewont Hotel is dead center of the town on its main street, and a bit old-fashioned with its huge bedrooms and baths. In addition to the fine restaurant, there is a delightful Viennese-type coffeehouse on the first floor, its windows looking out on passing shoppers. It’s said that nothing happens in Zakopane that one can’t see from the Giewont’s coffeehouse windows, including the occasional passing parade: The Tatra region is band-happy.

The Orbis group also has a luxury hotel just outside town, the 300-room Kasprowy. Built in contemporary style with a facade made up completely of sunny bedroom balconies, there are several restaurants, an indoor pool, sauna, ice rink and nightclub. The Kasprowy has a beautiful view of the town below, the Tatras for a backdrop, and is a favorite with skiers for its nearby slopes and lifts.

Regional food and drink: Apart from the marvelous sausages and hearty thick soups one finds all over Poland, Zakopane has a regional cheese that isn’t found elsewhere. This smoked ostypek , shaped like a very slim football, is on the strong side but very good with a cold beer. There’s plenty of lamb from those mountain meadows, plus abundant game in season, including roast duck and goose. That Polish staple bigos , a hunter’s stew of various meats and cabbage, is everywhere, as is cabbage stuffed with rice and a variety of other ingredients.

While not too easy to find in big-city tourist hotels, the delicious pierogi dumplings are a Tatras favorite, and of course the famed Polish kielbasa sausage is impossible to ignore.

Polish beer is excellent, and the red and white wines of Bulgaria and the former Yugoslavia are uniformly good.

Dining well: Karczmy Obrochtowka (Kraszewskiego 10) has been serving Tatras highlanders within its log walls for more than a century, and is considered Zakopane’s best for typical Tatras food. Beneath a long, low ceiling, the decor includes rough-hewn tables and chairs, wildflowers, colorful artifacts on the log walls and mountain music in the evenings.

Start with a hearty barszcz (borscht), with a meat-stuffed pastry on the side ($1), then move on to such as roast duck ($3), the most expensive thing on the menu; old-style goulash cooked in a huge iron kettle ($1.10), or perhaps a local freshwater fish fillet (80 cents). The shashliks (kabobs) here are superb.

The dining room of Hotel Giewont is famous for its Italian Renaissance paneled ceiling and 10-foot-high Polish porcelain chandeliers. There are eight of them, all sublime works of art. Try the borscht with ravioli ($1.15), roast pork with prunes ($3.50) or a main dish of wild mushrooms ($2). After the meal, step down a few stairs into the Vienna-style coffeehouse for a coffee mit schlag and pastries.

Zajazd Tatrzanski has a gaily colorful restaurant that matches all the rustic ambience of the inn, with its handmade furniture, huge fireplace, wood carvings and a large portrait of the owner’s father, who was a very regal-looking officer in the Polish army.

The wild mushroom soup (80 cents) was marvelous, and the very tender and flavorful roast lamb ($2.60) could be cut with a fork. One of Poland’s great specialties is roast duck with apples ($2.80), and the sauteed foie gras is only $2.90, about one-tenth the cost in many European countries. The ice cream with wild mountain berries was spectacular.

On your own: First order of business is a walk through the outdoor market to the funicular, to the top of Gubalowka Mountain for its magnificent views of the town, the Tatras and Slovakia. There’s a cafe and terrace here for relaxing before the trip down. A cable car will get you to the top of Kasprowy Wierch Mountain, at 6,500 feet the most famous skiers’ mountain in Poland and a favorite destination for Pope John Paul II.

Have a look at the old wooden church in Zakopane, then by all means visit the chapel at nearby Jaszczurowka, an exquisite example of the fanciful Zakopane style. Keep your eyes peeled for storks nesting at the top of chimneys. They’re everywhere--even in the middle of towns.

GUIDEBOOK

A Ticket to the Tatras

Getting there: Lot Polish Airlines and Delta offer advance-purchase, round-trip tickets from Los Angeles to Warsaw for $748, October to March. A first-class train ticket from Warsaw to Zakopane is about $20.

A few fast facts: Poland’s zloty recently sold for about 13,100 to the dollar, about .000076 each. Best time for a visit is spring, when wild crocuses are in bloom across the fields, through October. The Festival of Highland Folklore, with Tatras dances and other folkloric events, is held every September. July and August can be very, very crowded.

Where to stay: Zajazd Tatrzanski (Stanistawa Nedzy Kubinca 45; $23 double B&B;); Obis Giewont (Kosciuszki 1; $45-$52 double, $37 without bath, breakfast $3.50); Obis Kasprowy (Polana Szymoszkowa; $67 double).

For more information: Call or write Lot Polish Airlines (6100 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1450, Los Angeles 90048, 213-934-5151) for a brochure detailing (with costs) a variety of air-land, land-only and independent fly-drive packages for all of Poland, including Zakopane.