Ochodzita

Rain falling on Ochodzita can end up in three different rivers: the Soła and the Vistula, the Olza and the Oder, or via the Váh in the Danube. This treeless, dome-shaped hill, 895 metres high, rises above the village of Koniaków right on the European Watershed, between the catchments of the Baltic and the Black Sea. Its summit offers one of the most complete panoramas in the Western Beskids — on a clear day as far as the Tatra Mountains.

Where the name comes from

Ochodzita is made of hard Krosno sandstone, more resistant to erosion than the surrounding rocks, which is why it stands 100–200 metres above the ridges around it. A folk tale explains the name with robbers: they supposedly watched merchant caravans from the summit, so traders preferred to go around (obchodzić in Polish) the hill at a safe distance. "Obchodzita" is said to have become Ochodzita. The oldest recorded form, noted by the 18th-century chronicler Andrzej Komoniecki, was in fact "Pochodzista".

What you can see from the top

The panorama takes in three countries — Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia:

• to the north, Barania Góra with the Gańczorka and Tyniok ridge, and beyond Istebna the Czantoria and Stożek range,
• to the east, the Żywiec Beskids with Romanka, Lipowski Wierch and Pilsko, and in clear air also the Tatras,
• to the south, Wielka Racza and Slovakia's Malá Fatra with Veľký Rozsutec,
• to the west, the Moravian-Silesian Beskids with Lysá hora and its distinctive transmitter mast.

A relay station stands on the summit, and just below it is a small wayside shrine made by Ludwik Kubaszczyk, a folk artist from Koniaków. The slopes are farmed: fields and meadows lower down, pasture higher up.

Good to know

On the northern slopes, below the Jaworzynka–Milówka road, lies one of the largest recent landslides in the Silesian Beskids. It formed after heavy rain in the late 1950s and is almost 450 metres long. In winter the slopes are used by skiers, and in Koniaków below the hill there is a Lace Museum — the village's bobbin and crochet lace is famous throughout Poland.

Tripto tips

The summit itself is off the marked trails, but several routes pass its foot: blue via Sołowy Wierch to Zwardoń (about 2 hours), yellow via Istebna and the Kubalonka pass to Wisła Głębce (about 4.5 hours), and blue then green to the tripoint of the Polish, Czech and Slovak borders at Jaworzynka (about 2.5 hours). A short walk from Koniaków takes you to the top. Come for sunset or on a clear autumn day — the treeless summit offers no shelter from the wind, so bring a warm layer.