Gorlice Beskids (western Low Beskids)

The name "Beskid Gorlicki" was coined by pre-war hikers, for whom the town of Gorlice was the main gateway to the mountains between Krynica and Dukla. Geographers no longer use it, but the landscape hasn't changed: this is the western part of the Low Beskids (Beskid Niski) south of Gorlice, between the Biała and Wisłoka valleys. Expect gentle ridges, wooden Lemko churches on the UNESCO list, cemeteries from 1915 and the highest peak of the Polish Low Beskids – Lackowa (997 m).

Where the name comes from

The term Beskid Gorlicki was popular among hikers before and just after the Second World War. At that time Gorlice had a branch of the Polish Tatra Society, later turned into a branch of PTTK, Poland's main hiking association. Modern classifications divide the area into three regions: the Grybów Mountains with short ridges and isolated massifs, the Hańczowa Mountains with long, narrow and steep ridges, and the Magura Ranges with broad, gentle ridges between the Ropa and Wisłoka rivers.

What to see

• Lackowa (997 m) – a peak in the Crown of Polish Mountains on the Slovak border. Its western slope, followed by the red trail, is the steepest stretch of marked trail in the Low Beskids, climbing about 300 m in a single kilometre.
• The church in Owczary from 1653 and the church in Kwiatoń from the second half of the 17th century – both added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2013. Kwiatoń is regarded as the model example of a Lemko church. After the Lemkos, a Carpathian ethnic group, were deported in 1947 under "Operation Vistula", the Kwiatoń church was taken over by Roman Catholics; today both churches are shared by Greek Catholics and Roman Catholics.
• War Cemetery No. 123 at Pustki in Łużna – a burial ground from the Battle of Gorlice in May 1915, designed by Jan Szczepkowski and awarded the European Heritage Label in 2016.
• Magura National Park – created in 1995, protecting the upper Wisłoka basin and the Magura Wątkowska range.

Interesting facts

During the Bar Confederation, an 18th-century noble uprising, the then bare summit of Lackowa was used to send flag signals between the confederates' camps in Izby and Wysowa – hence its old name, "Pułaski's Little Flag". Gorlice is also a cradle of the oil industry: in 1854 Ignacy Łukasiewicz lit the world's first kerosene street lamp here. The Battle of Gorlice on 2 May 1915 broke through the Russian front and destroyed most of the town.

Tripto tip

The PTTK branch in Gorlice looks after about 315 km of mountain trails, including routes from Gorlice towards Magura Wątkowska, from Biecz towards Ferdel and from Ropki towards Ostry Wierch. Base yourself in Gorlice, Sękowa or Uście Gorlickie; on the trail you can stay at the PTTK hostel on Magura Małastowska or the PTTK hut in Bartne. Check Magura National Park notices before hiking through the park. Villages can be far apart, so carry a map, enough water and boots that can handle mud.