Alps-like Tatra Mountains, or the Tatras (Tatry in Polish language), is the highest range of the Carpathian Mountains and lie along Poland’s border with Slovakia. The Tatra Mountains rise to the greatest elevation in the entire northern half of Europe, with the 2655-meters (8711 ft) Gerlachovsky Stit in Slovakia and the 2499-meters (8198 ft) Rysy peak in Poland. The range is about 53 km long, the bulk on the Slovak territory. However, the Polish Tatras are blessed with some of the most spectacular views - for instance, the spectacular nook of the High Tatras - Dolina Rybiego Potoku, and the most scenic valley in the Western Tatras, Dolina Koscieliska, are both situated in the Polish section of the Tatras. Three distinct parts make up the Tatra Mountains – the High Tatras, the Western Tatras, and the Bielskie Tatras. Visitors to the Tatras largely head for town of Zakopane in Poland, the biggest mountain resort in Europe north of the Alps. The town of 28,000 receives about three million holiday-makers a year. Due to its central location on the verge of both the High Tatras and the Western Tatras, and its accessibility, Zakopane is the best gateway to the whole area. The town also abounds in varied hotels, inns, and boarding-houses, restaurants and cafes, shops and art galleries, sport facilities and nightclubs. Zakopane is a major center of winter sports of all sorts. Noteworthy is the region’s old wooden architecture and its charm in autumn.