Czertezik

Czertezik is a 772 m summit in the Central Pieniny, the second-highest top of the Pieninki ridge and one of the best viewpoints over the middle part of the Pieniny Gorge of the Dunajec. It is a long, narrow summit: about 150 m to the west it adjoins slightly higher Czerteż (774 m), while to the south-east the Sosnów pass (650 m) separates it from Sokolica. The hill lies in the Pieniny National Park within Krościenko nad Dunajcem (Nowy Targ County, Lesser Poland); central Krościenko is about 1.9 km to the north-west.

The name comes from the Czertezik glade that once existed on its slopes. Linguists derive it from Vlach certez, “bright, clear, thinned out”, while Ruthenian “czerteż” means burnt or cleared forest.

How to get there / routes

The blue Main Pieniny Trail crosses the summit on the Sokola Perć section (from Sokolica to Bajków Groń). From the Sosnów pass the path climbs steeply in zigzags to Czertezik in 20–30 minutes; just beyond the top there is a junction with a green path to Krościenko.

• From Szczawnica on the blue trail via the Dunajec ferry and Sokolica: about 1 h 30 min (down 1 h 15 min); from Sokolica about 30 min.
• From Trzy Korony on the blue trail via Zamkowa Góra, Bajków Groń and Czerteż: about 2 h 05 min (2 h 15 min in the opposite direction).
• From Krościenko nad Dunajcem on the green trail: about 1 h 20 min (down 1 h 05 min).

What you can see from the summit

There is a viewpoint on the summit, with the cliff below secured by a metal barrier. It looks over the middle section of the Pieniny Gorge of the Dunajec – the deep canyon where the river cuts through the Pieniny – with the Trzy Korony massif across the valley of the Pieniński Potok.

Nature and history

The upper part of the hill is built of crinoidal limestone. The southern slope is steep and rocky in places, falling to the Dunajec and to the deep valley of the Pieniński Potok that divides the Pieninki from the Trzy Korony massif. Below the summit there is a cliff 35–40 m high, and lower down steep ground with sparse pine-beech forest. About 50 m below the top a small cave 6 m long was discovered in these slopes in 1953. The northern slopes are covered with beech-fir forest.

Plants very rare in Poland have been recorded on Czertezik – small-leaved helleborine and the shrub Spiraea media – as well as single yew trees. The Pieninki as a whole are a land of relict pines on rocks, dry grassland and glades where the Apollo butterfly lives.

Tourists climbed Czertezik as early as about 1900, and in 1906 a trail was marked to the top. Today's Sokola Perć was laid out in 1926 by Father Walenty Gadowski, the author of the Tatra Orla Perć.

Safety, season and rules

The climb from the Sosnów pass is steep, and limestone and roots are slippery after rain and in winter. At the viewpoint never step beyond the barrier – there is a cliff below. In a thunderstorm do not linger on the open crest: the green path to Krościenko offers a quick descent. 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 it is easier to start 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

• Czertezik and Czerteż are “twin” summits with names of the same origin, differing in height by only 2 m.
• A marked trail to Czertezik existed from 1906 – twenty years before the Sokola Perć.

Photos: Jerzy Opioła, CC BY-SA 3.0; Andrzej Harassek, CC BY-SA 3.0; Jerzy Opioła, CC BY-SA 3.0; Jerzy Opioła, CC BY-SA 4.0; Andrzej Otrębski, CC BY-SA 4.0; Andrzej Otrębski, CC BY-SA 4.0 — Wikimedia Commons.