Viewpoints

Observation Tower on Barania Góra

On the summit of Barania Góra, the second highest peak of the Silesian Beskids (1,215 m above sea level), stands a 15-metre steel observation tower. Built in the 1990s as the first structure of this kind in the whole range, it holds up to 20 people at a time, and admission is free around the clock.

A panorama of three countries

The terrace offers a full 360-degree view. Czantoria, Skrzyczne and Babia Góra are close by, and in clear weather the view reaches the Tatra Mountains, Slovakia's Malá Fatra and the Czech Jeseníky range — summits of three countries from a single spot. This is one of the reasons why Barania Góra remains the principal hiking destination in this part of the Silesian Beskids.

The mountain by the sources of the Vistula

The altitude of 1,220 m, often quoted in literature, refers to the geodetic benchmark on the concrete obelisk standing at the summit. The western slopes are the spring area of the Vistula: two of the three source streams of Poland's longest river, Biała Wisełka and Czarna Wisełka, emerge there. The spring area is protected, and the slopes are covered with fir and beech forests mixed with spruce.

How to get up

The summit is reached by the blue trail from Wisła Czarne through the Biała Wisełka valley, or by the scenic green trail from Malinowska Skała. Both routes connect with longer walks across the Silesian Beskids, so a full-day hike with a break for the tower views is easy to plan.