Szczerbanówka Lookout Tower

The tower stands right next to the tarmac, so you can climb it straight from your car – no hike and no ticket needed. This wooden structure on Przysłup Pass (749 m above sea level) is named after a village that no longer exists: Szczerbanówka was abandoned after the war and the resettlements that followed, and nothing remains of its church.

History: the tower and the vanished village

The tower was built in 2017 by the Cisna Forest District, which owns it. It is 9 metres tall with three viewing platforms. It stands on regional road 897 between Komańcza and Cisna, on the border of the two municipalities, about 6 km from Cisna.

Szczerbanówka lay on the western side of the pass, on the right bank of the Osława river. Around 1600 it was a royal village, and before the Second World War about 150 people from different communities lived here. After the post-war deportations the village was completely abandoned. Its wooden Greek Catholic church of St Demetrius, built in 1857, was dismantled in 1950. In the 1980s work began on a student mountain hut called "Szczerbanówka" on the site of the former village.

What to see

• The view of the Bieszczady to the east: Smerek, Połonina Wetlińska, Jasło, Małe Jasło and Hyrlata.
• A panorama board and a telescope on the top platform.
• The south-east "window" – the trees around the tower have grown tall, so this is where the view is widest, towards the cone of Smerek and the ridge of Połonina Wetlińska.

Rules for climbing

The Cisna Forest District's regulations allow a maximum of 6 people on the tower at once. Children may climb only with an adult. Foresters advise against going up in fog, rain, snow, ice, thunderstorms or strong wind. The steps are made of metal grating, the rest of the structure of timber.

Tripto tip

There is a large free car park and a covered shelter by the tower, which makes it a good stop on the drive from Komańcza to Cisna. Allow 15–20 minutes to climb up and take in the view. Come on a clear day – in autumn the forests on the surrounding slopes are a blaze of colour. If you fancy a walk, the green trail from Hyrlata to Wołosań runs about 1 km east of the tower.