Makowska Góra (Maków Mountain)

Fields and meadows run almost to the summit here, so from the edge of the woods on Makowska Góra you can see Babia Góra, the Little Beskids and the hills rolling towards Kraków all at once. It is a modest hill right above the small town of Maków Podhalański, with no marked trail to the top – ideal for a short, quiet walk from town.

Where it is

Makowska Góra belongs to the Koskowa Góra range in the Maków Beskids and lies in its western part, north of the Skawa valley. According to the Hiking Trails website it rises to 648 m. To the east it adjoins Bryndzówka (697 m), to the west Borysówka (610 m), and its north-eastern slopes drop to the Jachówka stream. It is built of weather-resistant Magura sandstone over softer shale. The houses of Maków spread across its southern slopes, which fall towards the Skawa.

What to see

The summit is partly wooded, and open spots on the slopes offer wide views:

• to the north – the Chełm range with Chełm and East Chełm, and beyond it the Wieliczka Foothills,
• to the west – the Little Beskids (Beskid Mały),
• to the south – the Żywiec-Orava Beskids, dominated by Babia Góra.

Interesting facts

In 1933 a holiday centre for railway workers was built on the slopes of Makowska Góra; it later became a tuberculosis sanatorium. Today the former sanatorium on ul. Mickiewicza houses a long-term care facility named after St Catherine of Siena. Maków itself, first recorded in 1378, was the most important pilgrimage centre in the Polish Carpathians before the partitions of Poland in the late 18th century, and since 1896 it has had a tailoring school that teaches the distinctive Maków embroidery.

Tripto tip

No marked trail crosses the summit: the green trail from Kalwaria Zebrzydowska to Maków skirts it to the west, and the black trail from the Piątkowa neighbourhood to Stańkowa passes to the south. You reach the slopes on local roads from town; parts of the way follow dirt tracks and meadows, so wear good shoes after rain. Many of the meadows are private fields – please stay on the tracks. The clearest views usually come on cool, crisp days in autumn and winter. The walk combines easily with a visit to the sanctuary in the centre of Maków.