Durbaszka

Durbaszka is an inconspicuous 934 m summit on the main ridge of the Small Pieniny (Małe Pieniny), in the eastern part of the Pieniny. The Polish–Slovak border runs across it. The Polish slopes belong to the village of Jaworki (Szczawnica municipality, Nowy Targ County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship), the Slovak ones to the area of Stráňany (Stará Ľubovňa district). Stráňany is about 2.2 km away and Jaworki 2.5 km. Wysokie Skałki, the highest summit of the Pieniny, lies about 1.6 km to the east, Wysoki Wierch 1.8 km to the west.

Durbaszka is interesting not for its height but for the contrast between its slopes: the southern, Slovak side is completely forested, while the crest and the northern, Polish side are wide open pastures falling to the Grajcarek valley. They make the summit one of the viewpoints of the Small Pieniny.

How to get there / routes

The blue-marked trail Tarnów – Wielki Rogacz crosses the summit. It follows the Small Pieniny ridge from the Pieniny Road via Szafranówka, Łaźne Skały, Cyrhle, Wysoki Wierch, Durbaszka, Wysoka and Wierchliczka to the Rozdziela pass and Przełęcz Gromadzka in the Sądecki Beskids. According to OSM, the Slovak Via Slovakia route uses the same ridge. From Jaworki a convenient approach is the green trail through the Homole gorge to the ridge near the Kapralowa Wysoka saddle and then the blue trail west – about 1.3 km to Durbaszka.

There is also an unmarked option: a dirt road leaving the Szczawnica – Jaworki road just before the Homole gorge car park leads to the hut below Durbaszka, from where a path climbs to the ridge; the same way can be used to descend back to the road. Several groups of limestone rocks stand along the road – Sołtysie Skały, Czerszlowe Skałki and Czerszla.

The view from the summit

The upper, treeless part of the ridge gives wide views of the Radziejowa range in the Sądecki Beskids and of the Pieniny proper. On the Slovak side, gaps between the trees reveal the Tatras in places.

Nature and history

The pastures on Durbaszka are former fields of the Lemkos of Jaworki. Before the Second World War cattle grazed here and part of the slopes was ploughed. After the Lemkos were deported the land went to a socialist farming cooperative, and in 1949–1952 a large model sheep shed was built at about 835–850 m. It proved impractical for sheep farming; in 1973, on the initiative of Polish Scouting Association instructors, the Kraków education authority took the building over as a youth base. Today it is the modernised hut below Durbaszka – a branch of the Kraków Youth Culture Centre "Dom Harcerza" with 86 beds – and also a GOPR rescue point.

Shepherds from Podhale graze sheep on the pastures again. In the forest on the Slovak slope there are limestone rocks known as the Church Rocks (Kościelne Skały). The southern slopes lie in the Slovak Pieniny National Park (PIENAP); the Polish side is outside the Pieniny National Park.

Safety, season and rules

The routes to Durbaszka are easy and open all year, but the open ridge offers no shelter from wind and storms, and in fog it is easy to lose the waymarks on the wide pastures. On the Slovak side PIENAP rules apply – stay on marked trails. Do not disturb the flocks and keep away from sheepdogs.

The Pieniny are covered by the mountain rescue service GOPR (Podhale group): call 985 or +48 601 100 300, or 112; installing the "Ratunek" app is a good idea. On the Slovak side call HZS on 18 300 (+421 18 300) or 112.

Interesting facts

• The hut below Durbaszka was meant to be a sheep farm: it was built as model shed no. 1.
• German Wikipedia lists the mountain as Dubraszka, a variant of the same name.

Photos: Artur Kozioł, CC BY-SA 3.0; Jerzy Opioła, CC BY-SA 3.0; Jerzy Opioła, CC BY-SA 3.0; Jerzy Opioła, CC BY-SA 4.0 — Wikimedia Commons.