Czerteż

Czerteż is a 774 m summit in the Central Pieniny, the highest point of the Pieninki ridge and of the famous Sokola Perć path. It lies between Czertezik (772 m), only about 150 m away, and Ociemny Wierch (740 m), from which it is separated by the Burzana pass (724 m). The northern slopes fall to the Dunajec, the southern ones to the deep, wild valley of the Pieniński Potok, which divides the Pieninki from the Trzy Korony massif. The hill lies in the Pieniny National Park within Krościenko nad Dunajcem (Nowy Targ County, Lesser Poland); central Krościenko is about 1.8 km to the north-west.

The peak was also once called Czertez or Czertezy. The name comes from a nearby glade, now overgrown, and has Ruthenian (Lemko) roots: “czerteż”, “czertiż” means a forest clearing.

How to get there / routes

The blue Main Pieniny Trail crosses the rocky summit and ridge of Czerteż on the section known as the Sokola Perć: from Sokolica via the Sosnów pass and Czertezik to Bajków Groń, where it joins the yellow path from Krościenko to Sromowce Niżne. From Szczawnica the route starts with the ferry across the Dunajec. It is about 45 minutes from Sokolica to Czerteż, about 10 minutes from Czertezik, and another 45 minutes from Czerteż to Bajków Groń.

• Just below the summit there are wooden steps and a short, steep rock step with handrails; dangerous sections of the crest are fenced with metal barriers.
• If you dislike rock and drops, you can bypass the summit on the green trail: a comfortable forest path from Krościenko reaches the Burzana pass and traverses the northern slopes of Czerteż to the saddle between Czerteż and Czertezik.

What you can see from the summit

The top is wooded, but its rocks give a view of Sokolica, the Trzy Korony massif (including Golica) and the Pieniny Gorge of the Dunajec, with the river cutting a deep canyon through the range below.

Nature and history

Czerteż is built of crinoidal limestone. On the south it is cut by a steep cliff about 170 m high, dotted with relict Scots pines over 100 years old yet only 5–8 m tall, and with grassland of pale fescue. The Pieninki as a whole drop to the Dunajec in walls 300–345 m high; their glades keep the typical Pieniny flora and the Apollo butterfly, and the forest is Carpathian beech wood with spruce and sycamore. Most of the Pieninki was bought from local farmers as early as 1930, when the Pieniny National Park was being created.

The Sokola Perć was created in 1926 by Father Walenty Gadowski, the author of the Tatra Orla Perć, who linked existing paths and laid out several new ridge sections. At first it was called the “Pieniny Orla Perć”; the present name appeared in print in 1927.

Safety, season and rules

The Czerteż crest is exposed in places, and the steps and limestone are very slippery after rain and in winter – hold the railings and keep away from the cliff edge. In a thunderstorm it is better to bypass the summit on the green path along the northern slope. Entry to the Pieniny National Park is free, but strict rules apply: walk only on marked trails (no climbing on rocks, no stepping onto meadows or beyond railings), stay in the park only in daytime – from an hour before sunrise to an hour after sunset – and do not bring dogs, fly drones, camp or light fires. The Szczawnica ferry runs only in the warm season (roughly May to October according to guides); in winter the Pieninki are easier to reach from Krościenko.

The Pieniny are covered by the mountain rescue service GOPR (Podhale group, stations in Szczawnica and Krościenko): call 985 or +48 601 100 300, or 112; installing the «Ratunek» app is a good idea.

Interesting facts

• Czerteż is 27 m higher than neighbouring Sokolica (747 m), yet Sokolica is far more popular.
• The author of the Sokola Perć is the same priest who created the hardest path in the Tatras, the Orla Perć.

Photos: Jerzy Opioła, CC BY-SA 4.0; Jerzy Opioła, CC BY-SA 4.0; Jerzy Opioła, CC BY-SA 4.0; Jerzy Opioła, CC BY-SA 4.0; Andrzej Otrębski, CC BY-SA 4.0; Andrzej Otrębski, CC BY-SA 4.0 — Wikimedia Commons.