Śnieżne Kotły (Snowy Cirques)

Two rocky bowls carved by glaciers beneath the main ridge of the Karkonosze, with cliffs, gullies and snow that lingers well into spring — Śnieżne Kotły (the Snowy Cirques) form the most alpine landscape in the Polish Sudetes. On their rim stands the distinctive building of a relay station, which in 1837 opened as the first real mountain hut in the Karkonosze. The cirques have been a nature reserve since 1933 and are now under strict protection within Karkonosze National Park.

Two cirques, one glacial story

The cirques lie on the Silesian Ridge, between Wielki Szyszak (1,509 m) and Łabski Szczyt (1,471 m), entirely within the municipality of Piechowice. A rocky spur divides them. The Small Snowy Cirque to the west is about 300 m deep with walls up to 100 m, and its floor lies at about 1,175 m. The Great Snowy Cirque to the east is about 250 m deep, and its walls, cut by seven gullies, reach 150 m. They were gouged out by a Pleistocene glacier, probably during the last glaciation; its tongue reached about 2 km. It left behind five moraine ridges up to 15 m high and three seasonally drying tarns, the Śnieżne Stawki.

Basalt and Ice Age plants

The surroundings are made of Karkonosze granite, but the Small Cirque exposes a basalt dyke about 26 million years old, 30–60 m wide. Thanks to it, the Basalt Gully has the greatest plant diversity in the entire Karkonosze. It is home to the snow saxifrage, whose only site in Central Europe is here, and a basalt variety of mossy saxifrage found nowhere else in the world. Lichens more than 600 years old grow on the moraine boulders — the oldest organisms in the Karkonosze.

A mountain hut turned relay station

In 1837 Count Schaffgotsch built the Schneegrubenbaude above the cirques — the first proper mountain hut in the Karkonosze (on Śnieżka, a former chapel was then serving visitors). After several extensions it operated until May 1961, when it was converted into a radio and television relay station. Next to it rises the rock group known as the Devil's Pulpit (Czarcia Ambona).

What to see

• The view from the rim over the Karkonosze, the Jizera, Kaczawa and Rudawy Janowickie mountains and the Jelenia Góra Valley, and in good visibility even Ślęża.
• The walls of the Great Cirque with their seven gullies and scree slopes.
• The Śnieżne Stawki tarns and moraines on the cirque floors, visible from the green trail.
• The Devil's Pulpit beside the relay station building.

Tripto tips

The red Main Sudetes Trail (Szklarska Poręba–Karpacz) runs along the upper rim of the cirques, while the green Path above the Forests (Ścieżka nad Reglami) crosses their floor and is often closed in winter because of avalanche risk. The shortest approach is from Szklarska Poręba via the hut below Łabski Szczyt. Measurements from 1881–1930 showed an average annual temperature of only +0.5°C and 1,480 mm of precipitation, so bring a jacket and a warm layer even in summer. The rim trail runs right above the drop — take extra care in fog and strong wind. Allow a full day for the hike. Entry to Karkonosze National Park is charged; leaving the marked trails is forbidden.