Wysoki Wierch

Wysoki Wierch (Slovak Šľachovky or Šlachtovský vrch) is an 898 m dome-shaped summit in the Small Pieniny, right on the Polish–Slovak border. It lies on the main ridge of the Small Pieniny, south of Jarmuta, above the Leśnicki stream valley. It is a junction summit: a ridge runs south from it linking the Small Pieniny with the Golica group in Slovakia. Below lie two Slovak villages, Lesnica and Veľký Lipník, and Polish Szlachtowa; Veľký Lipník and Szlachtowa are about 2.5 km away, Jaworki about 3.2 km.

The Polish slopes belong to Szlachtowa (Szczawnica municipality, Nowy Targ County, Lesser Poland), the Slovak ones to Stará Ľubovňa District in the Prešov Region.

How to get there / routes

• Blue trail along the Small Pieniny ridge – from the Pieniny Road via Szafranówka, Łaźne Skały, Cyrhle, Wysoki Wierch, Durbaszka, Wysoka and Wierchliczka to the Rozdziele pass and Przełęcz Gromadzka in the Sądecki Beskid. It does not reach the summit itself but traverses the northern, Polish slopes.
• Szlachtowa – Wysoki Wierch – Przełęcz pod Tokarnią – Veľký Lipník (yellow): about 2 h, 2 h 5 min in the opposite direction. On the Slovak side the path from Lesnické sedlo runs along the western flank of the summit.

A short path across the meadows leads onto the dome; Slovak sources mention no marked trail to the highest point.

What you can see from the summit

The dome is almost treeless and surrounded on all sides by large meadows, so it offers some of the finest views in the Pieniny: the Trzy Korony massif, the Tatras, the Gorce, the Beskid Wyspowy, the Sądecki Beskid and the nearby Golica group. Slovak sources add the Spišská Magura and the Levoča Mountains. Below you see Lesnica, Veľký Lipník and Szlachtowa.

Nature and history

The meadows on the slopes were once fields of the Lemkos of Szlachtowa, who were deported in Operation Vistula. Traditional sheep grazing has been revived here. Because farming and mowing stopped, the slopes – especially the steep Slovak ones – are being overgrown by forest; unless something is done the summit will lose its views. The open dome is popular with paragliders and model-aircraft flyers, and in winter the slopes are good skiing terrain.

The Krupianka (Sztolnia) stream, a tributary of the Grajcarek, flows from the northern slopes. West of the summit, at 865 m on the ridge towards Rabsztyn, there used to be a seasonal border crossing between Szlachtowa and Veľký Lipník.

Early 19th-century documents record the mountain as Rabsztyński Groń; the name Koguci Wierch was wrongly attributed to it by Kazimierz Sosnowski, and the Lemkos of Szlachtowa simply called it Groń. Rare plants for Poland found here include the burnt orchid and Achillea setacea.

Safety, season and rules

Wysoki Wierch is an easy grassy summit but exposed to every wind: in bad weather and thunderstorms it is an uncomfortable place, and in fog the path across the meadows is easily lost. In summer sheep graze on the slopes – go around the flocks and do not provoke the sheepdogs. There is no spring on the summit itself, so bring water from the valley. Poland and Slovakia are both in the Schengen area, so you may cross the border on marked trails, but carry your passport.

The Polish side is covered by the Podhale group of the mountain rescue service GOPR (station in Szczawnica): call 985 or +48 601 100 300, or 112. On the Slovak side call the Mountain Rescue Service HZS: 18 300 (+421 18 300) or 112.

Interesting facts

• The Lemkos of Szlachtowa simply called the mountain Groń.
• Model-aircraft shows are held on the meadows of Wysoki Wierch.

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