Jagodna

Jagodna is the highest mountain in the Bystrzyckie Mountains and one of the peaks of the Crown of Polish Mountains, a popular list of the highest summits of each Polish range. The climb is gentle, and the reward is a 23-metre lookout tower rising above the spruce tops. From its platform you can see the Kłodzko Valley, the Śnieżnik Massif and the Orlické Mountains. The massif is also crossed by the European watershed – rain falling on one side ends up in the Baltic, on the other in the North Sea.

Two summits, one name

Jagodna (German: Heidelberg) has two tops: the northern at 985 m and the southern at 977 m above sea level. The Crown of Polish Mountains list uses 977 m, and on the ground the two summits are separated by a small wooded plateau. The eastern slope drops steeply towards the basin of Wyszki, Ponikwa and Poręba, the western towards the valley of the Divoká Orlice (Dzika Orlica). Water flowing east reaches the Nysa Kłodzka and the Baltic; water flowing west travels via the Orlice and the Elbe to the North Sea.

The mountain is built of granite gneiss and Upper Cretaceous sandstone and is covered with spruce forest mixed with beech, birch and larch. In the 16th century the border between Bohemia and the County of Kłodzko ran across Jagodna before it was moved to the Orlice valley.

Towers old and new

In the early 20th century the local branch of the Glatz Mountain Society built a 17-metre lookout tower on the summit. Before 1939 it was replaced by a survey tower, remains of which still stand. The current steel-and-timber tower was built in 2019 as part of the Czech-Polish Ridge Trail project and was officially opened by the Bystrzyca Kłodzka municipality on 8 September 2020.

The tower is 23 m high. A spiral staircase with three landings leads to the top, and the gondola-shaped viewing platform sits at 19 m. The panorama takes in the Kłodzko Valley, the Śnieżnik Massif, the Upper Nysa Graben and the Orlické Mountains.

Trails

The blue trail from Spalona Pass to Międzylesie crosses the summit. The easiest starting point is the wide meadow at Spalona Pass (about 800–815 m), where the PTTK Jagodna mountain hostel stands at the junction of two scenic roads, in a former inn dating from around 1895. From the meadow to the summit the climb is just under 200 m, and the broad forest track is also suitable for bikes. An alternative approach starts from the pass above Poręba. In winter, cross-country ski loops are groomed around the hostel, including "Mała Jagodna" (12 km) and "Duża Jagodna" (14 km).

Tripto tip

Allow 2–3 hours for the walk from Spalona Pass to the summit and back, including time on the tower. There has long been no public transport to the hostel, so you will need a car or bike. The spiral stairs are narrow – take care, especially in strong wind and in winter, when the steps can be icy. The clearest views usually come in autumn and on frosty winter days.