Landscape parks

Żywiec Landscape Park

The Żywiec Landscape Park, established on 13 March 1986, is the oldest large-scale nature protection area in the Silesian Voivodeship. It covers 35,870 hectares of the highest parts of the Żywiec Beskids along the Slovak border, from Zwardoń to Korbielów, with a buffer zone of a further 21,790 hectares.

Pilsko and the Racza Loop

The central part of the park is the massif of Pilsko (1,557 m), from which ridges radiate with scenery reminiscent of high mountains. In the west lies the Wielka Racza group, known as the Racza Loop, with the summits of Wielka Racza (1,236 m) and Wielka Rycerzowa (1,226 m). Between them rises the range of Lipowski Wierch and Romanka (1,366 m), its crests covered with forests interspersed with mountain meadows — crocuses bloom here in spring, and the flat area between Hala Lipowska and Rysianka is decorated with landslide lakes.

Nature in detail

The park also protects smaller curiosities. The highest waterfall threshold in the region, 10 metres high, lies on the stream in Sopotnia Wielka. The largest cave in the park, Jaskinia Wickowa, is 101 m long and has been designated a monument of inanimate nature.

Practical information

The park is free to visit all year round, from dawn to dusk. A red trail leads to Wielka Racza, a blue one branches off to Przełęcz Przegibek; Ujsoły and Jeleśnia are convenient bases. The map point we marked lies in the southern part of the park, near the border ridge — a good starting point for planning a longer route around the Racza Loop.

Żywiec Landscape Park

Pilsko and the Racza Loop

Nature in detail

Practical information

What to see

Place map

Places to stay nearby

Sources and further reading

Nearby attractions

Bacówka on Rycerzowa Mountain Hut

Rycerzowa

Przegibek Pass in the Żywiec Beskids

Wielka Racza

Rajcza Palace

Hala Bieguńska

Hala Boracza

Lovers' Bench on Kikula (Trojak) near Zwardoń

Wooden Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Laliki

Żywiec Landscape Park

About this place

Pilsko and the Racza Loop

Nature in detail

Practical information

What to see

Place map

Places to stay nearby

Sources and further reading

Nearby attractions