Cieńków Viewpoint and Bench

Under a hundred-year-old wild cherry tree on the Cieńków ridge, one simple rule applies: anyone who sincerely embraces and kisses their loved one here will be happy in love. This "magic tree" reached the final of Poland's Tree of the Year competition, and the viewpoint on Cieńków Niżni in Wisła has become one of the favourite places in the Silesian Beskids to watch the sunrise and sunset.

What to see

The summit of Cieńków Niżni is flat and treeless, and the viewpoint has a board identifying the panorama. You get the best view of the Biała Wisełka and Malinka valleys, and further away Czupel, Malinów, Malinowska Skała, Magurka Wiślańska, the ridge from Barania Góra to Czarny, Stożek Wielki and the Czantoria massif with the transmitter mast on Kozińce. From the slopes of Cieńków you can also see Lake Czerniańskie glinting below.

• The "magic tree" – a wild cherry about 100 years old, 8 m tall, with a girth of 160 cm. It grows on the ridge between the Malinka and Czarne valleys, in a private field.
• Meadows and pastures – the clearings on Cieńków were the longest-running centre of sheep grazing in the Silesian Beskids.
• The Adam Małysz ski jump on the northern slopes, by regional road 942.

Interesting facts

The area around the summit appeared in the Polish film "Drzewo i ja" (The Tree and Me), whose makers were inspired by the atmosphere of the place. In summer 2014 the singer Renata Przemyk gave an intimate concert under the cherry tree. The owner of the field where the tree grows told local media that she had tested the legend herself – and has been with her husband for 30 years.

Tripto tip

A trail runs up to the ridge from Wisła (Nowa Osada) via Cieńków Niżni, Postrzedni and Wyszni to Gawlas – the whole stretch is 4.7 km and takes about 1 hour 40 minutes. The yellow trail also runs along the ridge towards Barania Góra, Malinowska Skała and Skrzyczne. In winter the Cieńków ski station operates on the northern slope, with a four-seater chairlift from Wisła Malinka. There is a restaurant on the summit. Come at dawn or before sunset, when the panorama and the cherry tree look their best.