Carpathian Outlaws Trail (Zbójnicki Szlak)

It was not the Podhale region but Żywiecczyzna that was the cradle of Carpathian banditry — and this is precisely the thesis displayed by the Zbójnicki Szlak, also known as the Carpathian Outlaws Trail. It is a historical and cultural heritage route of the Carpathians leading through the Beskids, the Tatras and Orava, whose natural starting point is Żywiec with its castle and the Chamber of Outlaws’ Tortures.

In the footsteps of Janosik and Proćpok

The trail features both real and legendary figures: Janosik, Jerzy Fiedor called Proćpok, and Martyn Portasz. From Żywiec the route leads up Grojec hill and to the Regional Chamber of Jacenty Ignatowicz, then deep into Żywiecczyzna: to Jeleśnia with the Old Inn, Koszarawa with the Outlaws’ Chapel and Sopotnia Wielka with the outlaws’ pines, as far as the Outlaws’ Valleys above Złatna. On the other side of Babia Góra the route continues in Zawoja, with the outlaws’ chapel in Zawoja Policzna and the Old Rectory.

Heritage you can taste

The trail has an ethnic character: at the houses and workshops of local artists you can encounter the local dialect, including the Lemko language, and the specific speech of the Carpathian outlaws. Along the way you will also find memorial sites in the open air — the Alley of Outlaws in Węgierska Górka, a 3.5-metre statue of an outlaw in Cięcina Górna, or the Fiedorowa Janoska hill in Kamesznica. On Boraczy Wierch, the Proćpokowa Dziura cave recalls Proćpok.

In practice

The route comprises dozens of scattered points, so the most comfortable way is to travel it by car, splitting it into several trips — Żywiec is the natural base. For one day, plan 2–4 points combined with hiking trails to Muńkuł, Rachowiec or Wielka Racza. It is also worth following the trail back to Zakopane: at Pęksowy Brzyzek one of the chapters of this outlaw story comes to an end.