Markowe Szczawiny

Markowe Szczawiny is a small meadow on the northern slopes of Babia Góra at about 1,180 m, in the commune of Zawoja in Sucha County, within Babia Góra National Park (BgPN). It is the heart of the massif's trail network: most of the park's marked trails meet here, and the meadow is home to the oldest centre of mountain tourism in this part of the Beskids – the PTTK Markowe Szczawiny mountain hut.

The meadow used to be part of a larger shepherds' pasture called Markowa Hala. The name comes from its owner – an unknown man named Marek from Zawoja. The second part of the name comes from monk's rhubarb (Rumex alpinus, Polish "szczaw alpejski"), which still grows densely on the sites of the former sheep pens: the soil here is rich in nitrogen compounds left by sheep dung. On mountain pastures this dock was regarded as a weed, and the places where it grew were called "szczawiny". Its large leaves can still be seen next to the buildings on the meadow – a living trace of the old grazing.

Even before 1906 several hiking routes crossed here, and the meadow was a convenient bivouac site before climbing Babia Góra. In 1906 the Tatra Society built the first Polish hikers' hut in this part of the Beskids at Markowe Szczawiny. The old building stood until 2007, and in 2010 it was replaced by a new one. The meadow also has the former GOPR duty building, which houses the Babia Góra Centre for the History of Mountain Tourism (the PTTK Mountain Tourism Museum), and a GOPR rescue station. On 29 August 2021 an automatic weather station (call sign SR9WXY) was put into operation on the centre's building; its readings are available online. Next to the hut there is a memorial plaque to the victims of the Piper Seneca light aircraft crash of 23 May 2013.

What to see and do

• The dock "szczawiny" around the buildings – a rare chance to see how grazing changed mountain vegetation even decades later.
• The Mountain Tourism Museum – an exhibition on the history of tourism on Babia Góra (according to OpenStreetMap the building may be temporarily closed – check the BgPN website).
• The starting point for Babia Góra: from here via Przełęcz Brona to the highest summit of the massif, Diablak (1,725 m), is 3.1 km, about 1:31 up according to BgPN. The Perć Akademików route also starts here.

How to get there

The most popular and easiest approach is from Przełęcz Krowiarki (car park and BgPN ticket point) along the level Górny Płaj path: 6.3 km, according to the park 2:02 towards Markowe Szczawiny and 1:47 back; the path is laid out so that BgPN marks it as accessible for people with disabilities. From Zawoja come the yellow trail Zawoja Widły – Markowe Szczawiny – Babia Góra, the blue Zawoja Czatoża – Markowe Szczawiny and the green Zawoja Składy – Markowe Szczawiny. The red Main Trail of Beskidy also crosses the meadow. The climbs from Zawoja are ordinary forest mountain trails, manageable for families with children who already hike.

Season and safety

Entry to Babia Góra National Park is paid: as of October 2026 a ticket costs 10 PLN, reduced 5 PLN (it can be bought online at bgpn.pl or at the ticket points by the entrances: Zawoja Markowa, Przełęcz Krowiarki, Stańcowa). The meadow itself lies in the forest and is sheltered from the wind, but higher up, on the ridge of Babia Góra, the weather changes very quickly – it is not for nothing that the mountain is called the "Mother of Bad Weather" (Matka Niepogód). In winter some trails become ski routes, and there may be avalanche danger on the slopes. The meadow has a GOPR rescue station: 985 or 601 100 300.

Nearby

In Zawoja Markowa you can visit the Babia Góra National Park Permanent Exhibition, Zawoja, and to the east, in the Polica range, lies the Hala Krupowa pasture.

Photos: Jerzy Opioła, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons; Andrzej Otrębski, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons; Mariuszjbie, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons; Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons; Jerzy Opioła, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.