Barania Góra

Signs give the height as 1220 m, but that figure refers to a survey point set almost 5 m above the ground on a concrete obelisk – the summit itself is about 1215 m. Barania Góra is the second-highest peak of the Silesian Beskids (after Skrzyczne) and the mountain where Poland's greatest river, the Vistula, is born: two of its three headwater streams, the Biała and Czarna Wisełka, rise on its western slopes. From the steel tower on top you can see the mountains of three countries.

The mountain of springs

The summit sits on the boundary of Wisła and Kamesznica, which is also the old border between Cieszyn Silesia and the Żywiec region. The upper slopes and the headwaters are protected by the Barania Góra nature reserve, covering almost 400 ha, and the Wisełka streams are also part of the "Wisła" reserve. The slopes are covered with fir and beech forest, and the rare plants include Moravian monkshood. In recent years windthrow, bark beetle and salvage felling have opened up the eastern and southern slopes – bad news for the forest, but the views are wider.

The Rodło Cascades

In the Biała Wisełka valley, by the blue trail from Wisła Czarne, the stream drops over a series of natural steps and waterfalls from half a metre to 5 metres high – the tallest in the Silesian Beskids, with potholes scoured out at their base. They were named on 19 September 1987, the 65th anniversary of the Union of Poles in Germany, whose emblem, the Rodło, is a stylised course of the Vistula with Kraków. Sixteen former members of the Union attended the ceremony.

The observation tower

A steel observation tower open to everyone stands on the summit. In clear weather the panorama takes in the Silesian, Little, Maków and Żywiec Beskids with Babia Góra, the Tatras, the Malá Fatra and the Moravian-Silesian Beskids, and occasionally even the Jeseníky in the Sudetes. The tower was closed on 26 April 2024 because of its poor condition and reopened after renovation on 12 September 2024.

Trails

• From Wisła Czarne up the Biała Wisełka valley (blue, past the Rodło Cascades) – about 2.5 hours up, 2 hours down.
• From the Przysłop mountain hut – about 1 hour up, 45 minutes down.
• From Kamesznica – about 3 hours; from Kubalonka Pass via Stecówka – about 3 hours.
• From Skrzyczne – about 3.5 hours; the red Main Beskid Trail crosses the summit.
• Nature trail – a loop of about 16 km up the Czarna Wisełka valley to the summit and down the Biała Wisełka valley, around 8 hours. Renewed in 2017, it includes boards about capercaillie drawn by comic artist Tomasz Samojlik.

Tripto tip

There is no lift to the top, and within the reserve you must stay on marked trails. The best loop goes from Wisła Czarne up past the Rodło Cascades and down via Przysłop – allow 5–6 hours with breaks. The PTTK hut on Przysłop meadow (about 900 m) was housed from 1925 to 1979 in a wooden Habsburg hunting lodge and now occupies a masonry building. The rocks by the cascades are slippery even in summer. Set off early, check the forecast and leave time for the descent.