Słopnice Pass

At 757.5 m, the road from Słopnice to Zalesie crosses a treeless saddle between Cichoń (929 m) and Zapowiednica (763 m). Słopnice Pass is open over a long stretch and has no buildings, which makes it one of the most accessible viewpoints in the Beskid Wyspowy – and on clear days the Tatra Mountains are visible too. On the saddle you will find benches, a wayside shrine and a board of the Papal Trail.

An old highway and new tarmac

Until the 1960s the main road from Limanowa to Kamienica ran this way. It lost its importance once a new route was built over the pass below Ostra, and without tarmac the drive over Słopnice Pass became a struggle. Only on 2 July 2008 was a modernised, resurfaced section of more than two kilometres opened. On the saddle itself, roads branch off to the hamlets of Bukowina (Zalesie) and Piechotówka (Słopnice), and the pass marks the boundary between the two villages.

What you can see

• To the south-east – nearby Modyń and the ridges of the Beskid Sądecki beyond.
• To the north – the broad valley of Słopnice and Tymbark and the peaks of the Beskid Wyspowy: the Łososina range, Kamionna, Kostrza, Zęzów, Paproć, Łopień and Mogielica.
• To the east – Ostra and nearby Cichoń, with a few houses of the hamlet of Ślagi beneath the forest.

In the footsteps of Karol Wojtyła

The Papal Trail in the Beskid Wyspowy crosses the pass, running from the Rydz-Śmigły Pass in Chyszówki over Mogielica, Słopnice Pass, Cichoń and Ostra to Limanowa. It was opened on the 50th anniversary of a two-day hike that Father Karol Wojtyła, the future Pope John Paul II, made with young people on 24–25 June 1953. The green trail from Dobra over Łopień and Mogielica also passes here, as do cycling routes and a cross-country ski loop around Mogielica that can be started from the pass.

Tripto tip

You can drive up on tarmac from Słopnice or Zalesie, and a short walk on the open saddle needs no mountain experience. For the views alone, 20–30 minutes is enough; with more time, follow the trail towards Cichoń or set off for Mogielica. Conditions are best on cool, clear days in spring and autumn, when a view of the Tatras is more likely. There are no shops or mountain huts on the pass, so bring water and a hot drink.