Perła Zachodu PTTK Guesthouse on the Bóbr

A timber building with a terrace resting on stone pillars hangs on the edge of a cliff above Lake Modre, at the foot of Wieżyca hill in the Bóbr valley. Perła Zachodu ("Pearl of the West") has stood here since 1927, and its history has a less romantic chapter too: when the Bóbr was badly polluted, hikers nicknamed it "Perła Smrodu", the Pearl of the Stench. Today the river is cleaner, the cycle paths have been renovated and the guesthouse is drawing walkers and cyclists again.

From Turmsteinbaude to PTTK hostel

The building opened in 1927 as the Turmsteinbaude inn and kept that German name until 1945. After the war it reopened on 8 April 1950 and has belonged to PTTK, the Polish Tourist and Sightseeing Society, ever since. During the years of the polluted river the hostel was practically deserted; the recovery of the Bóbr and new cycle routes brought visitors back.

What to see

The guesthouse lies in Siedlęcin in the Izera Foothills, at about 320 m above sea level, within the Bóbr Valley Landscape Park. The highlights are:

• The terrace above the cliff – with views over the surface of Lake Modre and the rocks around it.
• The stone tower next to the building, with a viewing platform on top overlooking the lake, the footbridge and nearby rocks.
• The footbridge over the Bóbr below the building, reached by a flight of steps – from there you can best see how the hostel clings to the slope.

Trails and cycling

Several routes meet at Perła Zachodu. The green Piast Castles Trail runs from Radomice via Pokrzywnik, the Wrzeszczyn dam and Siedlęcin to Jelenia Góra, and the yellow trail follows the same valley. The black trail leads through Siedlęcin, Płoszczynka and Jeżów Sudecki to Płoszczyna, while a blue cycle route follows the Bóbr from Jelenia Góra towards Siedlęcin and Bolesławiec.

Tripto tip

The hostel is open all year and has a restaurant, a common room, free parking and 14 beds. It also hosts private events, so it is worth calling ahead, especially at weekends, to check that the restaurant is open to walk-in visitors. Allow about an hour for a coffee with a view, the tower and the walk down to the footbridge; from Jelenia Góra the nicest way to arrive is by bike along the Bóbr valley.