Main Sudetes Trail

The red-blazed trail across the Polish Sudetes passes Śnieżka and Śnieżnik but does not climb to their summits. That is a legacy of communist times, when the border zone was tightly guarded and the waymarks were kept away from the frontier, sometimes even along tarmac roads. Today this long-distance route named after Mieczysław Orłowicz links Świeradów-Zdrój with Prudnik and crosses almost every range of the Polish Sudetes, from the Jizera Mountains to the Opawskie Mountains.

History: Orłowicz's idea

The idea of a trail across the entire Sudetes came from Mieczysław Orłowicz, a writer on regional travel, founder of the Academic Tourist Club in Lviv and one of the key figures in Polish hiking. The concept was adopted in 1947 at a meeting of the Polish Tatra Society in Jelenia Góra, and waymarking began a year later. The trail took Orłowicz's name in 1973, the centenary of organised tourism in Poland.

The route has been changed many times. For years it ended at the railway station in Paczków; only later was it extended through Głuchołazy and the Opawskie Mountains to Prudnik.

How long is it?

The length depends on the measurement and the current route. The scoring table of the PTTK Central Mountain Tourism Centre gives 428.7 km, split into 48 sections, while popular guides quote around 440–444 km. Total ascent exceeds 14,000 metres, and the estimated walking time is well over a hundred hours. Record holders are much faster: Łukasz Wróbel completed the supported trail in 82 hours 12 minutes (2024).

Route and highlights

• Jizera Mountains — the start in Świeradów-Zdrój, Stóg Izerski and the Wysoki Kamień hut above Szklarska Poręba.
• Karkonosze (Giant Mountains) — Kamieńczyk Waterfall, the rim of the Śnieżne Kotły cirques, Karkonosze Pass and the plateau below Śnieżka, then the descent to Karpacz.
• Rudawy Janowickie, Stone and Owl Mountains — Krzeszów with its Baroque abbey, the Andrzejówka hut, Wielka Sowa and Srebrna Pass.
• Table Mountains — Wambierzyce, the Rock Mushrooms, Karłów and the rock labyrinth of Błędne Skały.
• Kłodzko Land — the spa towns of Kudowa-Zdrój and Duszniki-Zdrój, the Orlickie and Bystrzyckie Mountains, Międzygórze and the hut on the meadow below Śnieżnik.
• Eastern section — Lądek-Zdrój, Złoty Stok, Paczków, Głuchołazy, the hut below Biskupia Kopa and the finish in Prudnik.

The trail in practice

You can walk the whole trail in one go over a few weeks or split it into weekend sections — many stages start and end in towns with a railway station or bus stop. No climbing skills are needed, but the distance, total ascent and varied surfaces call for good fitness. There are plenty of mountain huts along the way, mostly run by PTTK, the Polish Tourist and Sightseeing Society; book ahead in high season. Completed sections earn points towards the Polish Mountain Hiking Badge and a dedicated GSS badge.

Tripto tip

If you want to find out whether long-distance hiking is for you, start with the Giant Mountains stretch from Szklarska Poręba to Karpacz — the most alpine and scenic part, with a good network of huts. Remember that Karkonosze National Park and Table Mountains National Park have their own rules and entry fees, and in winter some ridge sections may be closed because of avalanche risk. Before setting off, check the weather, park notices and the current waymarking; an offline map and enough water for the stretches between huts are essential.