Ślęża Landscape Park

During two Scandinavian glaciations the solitary Ślęża stood above the ice sheet like an island — geologists call such a peak a nunatak, and the gabbro boulder fields on its slopes are a souvenir of that era. Ślęża Landscape Park, established in 1988, protects this exceptional massif in the Sudeten Foreland, a short drive from Wrocław. It is a place where geology, nature and ancient cults meet across dozens of square kilometres of forest and rock.

The park in numbers

The park covers 8,190 ha, with a buffer zone of another 7,450 ha. It takes in the Ślęża Massif with Radunia, the Oleszna Hills and the Kiełczyn Hills, plus the isolated Jańska Góra. The highest point is Ślęża (718 m), also the highest summit of the entire Sudeten Foreland, and the lowest is the valley of the Sulistrowicki stream near Świątniki (150 m). Forests cover about 5,500 ha, or 67 per cent of the park, while farmland dominates the buffer zone. The area spans six municipalities: Sobótka, Jordanów Śląski, Dzierżoniów, Łagiewniki, Marcinowice and Świdnica.

Rocks from deep inside the Earth

The Ślęża Massif is a textbook ophiolite — a fragment of ancient oceanic crust, described by the Lower Silesian Landscape Parks authority as the best developed in this part of Europe. The summit is built of hard gabbro, the north-western slopes of granite from the Strzegom–Sobótka massif, and the arc of Radunia and the Kiełczyn Hills of serpentinite veined with magnesite, chalcedony and opal; occasionally even nephrite turns up. More than 100 springs have been recorded on Ślęża's slopes — once regarded as sacred, today valued as sources of drinking water.

Reserves and rare species

The most valuable areas are protected by three nature reserves: Góra Ślęża, Góra Radunia and Łąka Sulistrowicka. There is also the "Skalna" nature and landscape complex, a series of ecological sites called "Serpentine ferns of the Ślęża Massif" at 10 locations, and an archaeological reserve in Będkowice. The flora includes 25 strictly and 10 partially protected species, such as martagon lily, Siberian iris, superb pink and marsh gentian; a full third of the mosses are mountain species. The fauna resembles that of the Sudetes, though poorer — naturalists speak of a clear "island effect".

What to look out for

• Serpentinite outcrops on Radunia and the Kiełczyn Hills — a greenish rock that supports rare ferns.
• Gabbro boulder fields on Ślęża's slopes, a trace of the Ice Age.
• The hillfort in Będkowice, the goal of the archaeological trails.
• The reservoir in Sulistrowiczki, built in the 1970s on the Sulistrowicki stream.
• 21 natural monuments, including 14 pedunculate oaks and a ginkgo.

Tripto tips

The most convenient base is Sobótka with its railway station, from where trails lead up Ślęża. The park has 5 hiking trails, 5 long-distance routes and 3 educational paths, plus two archaeological trails: the shorter Sobótka–Będkowice route takes about 1 hr 50 min, the longer loop via Wieżyca, Strzegomiany, Będkowice, Ślęża and Skalna about 4 hrs 30 min. Allow half a day just to climb Ślęża and come back. Spring and early summer are the best time to see protected plants in bloom; remember that leaving marked trails is forbidden in the reserves.