Chata Grabowa Mountain Lodge

On the ridge of Grabowa, archaeologists have found traces of Middle Palaeolithic early humans, probably of the Mousterian culture. Today, right next to the summit of this mountain (907 m), stands Chata Grabowa — a lodge in highland style, surrounded by a "Fairy-Tale Garden" (Ogród Bajek) with figures from the legends and folk tales of the Silesian Beskids. It is the end point of the Utopiec Fairy-Tale Trail, which climbs from the centre of Brenna through the Hołcyna valley.

The Utopiec Fairy-Tale Trail

Marked in red and white, the trail is 6.5 km long and, according to the Brenna municipality, takes about 2 hours up and an hour and a half down. Along the way you pass historic buildings, wayside shrines and wooden sculptures, and there is an outdoor game full of riddles along the route. On Grabowa you will find the lodge, the garden of fairy-tale figures and a panorama of the Beskids. An alternative is the black trail from Brenna via Malina and Horzelica — 5.1 km and about 1 hour 50 minutes uphill.

Did you know?

The mountain is named after hornbeams (grab in Polish), and the Grabowa meadow appears in documents of the Duchy of Cieszyn as early as 1689; a shepherds' hut was recorded here in the mid-18th century. The boundary between Brenna municipality and the town of Szczyrk runs along the Grabowa ridge, as does the red trail from Klimczok to Salmopolska Pass. Near the lodge, if you leave the trail to the left into the forest, you reach the springs of the Hołcyna stream, and around the summit there are landslides and caves, including Odgruzowana Szczelina and the Grabowa cave.

Tripto tip

The lodge's address is Brenna, ul. Grabowa 52; the municipality also lists the phone number +48 510 101 222. It does not list opening hours, so before a longer trip, especially out of season, call ahead to make sure the lodge will be open. For a family outing on the Utopiec Trail, set aside half a day, take water and shoes suitable for a mountain path — walking times can be longer after rain.