Mountains & peaks

Sokolica in the Pieniny Mountains

Sokolica (747 m) is one of the most recognisable mountains of the Pieniny: its summit rises as a rocky crag about 300 metres above the Dunajec gorge, and on its ridge grows a pine that has become the emblem of the whole range. The peak lies within the Pieniny National Park, in the administrative bounds of Krościenko nad Dunajcem.

A pine older than Poland as a state

Studies of three specimens carried out in 1995–1996 showed that the relic pines on the summit were then about 550 years old — the oldest pines in Poland. The most famous one, growing on the edge of the abyss, was unfortunately damaged in 2018 by a helicopter during a rescue operation, but its characteristic trunk with a lower branch still frames the most photographed view in the Pieniny.

Walls above the Dunajec

The southern rocks of Sokolica drop in nearly vertical steps into a 310-metre abyss above the riverbed, and the highest step forms a wall 100 metres tall. Beneath it rises the pointed Sugar Loaf rock (Głowa Cukru), spectacularly visible from the Pieniny Road. From the railings at the summit — crowded with dozens of tourists — you can see the Dunajec gorge, the Three Crowns and, in clear weather, the crest of the Tatras.

In practice

The shortest ascent is the green trail from Krościenko nad Dunajcem — about 1 hour of walking. From the Szczawnica side leads the blue Sokola Perć path (about 1.5 hours), which requires a ferry crossing over the Dunajec, costing a few złoty and operating from mid-April; in winter the approach from Krościenko remains. The summit connects by ridge with Czertezik (772 m) across the Sosnów pass.