Babia Góra

Babia Góra (Slovak Babia hora) is a massif on the Polish–Slovak border in the Western Beskids, and also the usual name of its highest summit, Diablak ("Devil's Peak"), 1,723 m high. It is the highest mountain of the Western Beskids and, outside the Tatras, the highest summit in Poland; only Śnieżka has a greater prominence in the country (Babia Góra's is about 1,070 m). The massif stands alone: the long village of Zawoja lies below its northern side, while the south looks down on Slovak Orava with Oravská Polhora and on the Polish villages of Lipnica Wielka and Zubrzyca Górna. Babia Góra belongs to the Crown of Polish Mountains, and its ridge carries the main European watershed between the Baltic and the Black Sea basins.

The massif runs from the Jałowiec passes in the west to Krowiarki Pass in the east. Besides Diablak, the ridge includes Mała Babia Góra (Cyl, about 1,517 m), Brona Pass (1,408 m), Kościółki, Gówniak and Sokolica. The northern slopes are very steep and rocky, the southern ones much gentler.

How to get there / routes

On the Polish side the main base is Zawoja. The red Main Beskid Trail (GSB) crosses the summit: from Krowiarki Pass over Sokolica, Kępa and Gówniak to Diablak, then down to Brona Pass and the Markowe Szczawiny hut. According to Babia Góra National Park, the whole red section from Krowiarki to Jałowiec Pass is about 14.5 km and takes some 6 hours.

• from Markowe Szczawiny hut via Brona Pass to Diablak — 3.1 km, about 1.5 h up;
• from Markowe Szczawiny on the yellow trail through Sucha Kotlinka — about 3 km and 1.5 h;
• the green trail from Przywarówka (Lipnica Wielka) past the Głodna Woda spring — 2.3 km, about 2.5 h;
• the trail from Stańcowa — 4.5 km, about 2.5 h up (the Stańcowa entrance is open from May).

The hardest path in the Western Beskids is the Perć Akademików, a yellow trail from Skręt Ratowników on the Górny Płaj to the summit. It is a narrow path climbing steep rocks of the north face, secured with chains and eight metal staples; it is one-way (ascent only) and is periodically closed in winter. From the Slovak side, marked trails lead up from Slaná Voda near Oravská Polhora, including one over Malá Babia hora and Brána saddle.

What you can see from the summit

The rocky summit is one of the finest viewpoints in the region. In clear weather you can see the Orava Beskids, Orava Magura, Veľký Choč and almost the entire Tatras, and on the horizon the Low Tatras, the northern Greater Fatra, the Kriváň Fatra and Lysá hora in the Moravian-Silesian Beskids. The Żywiec Beskids with Pilsko are also well in view.

Nature and history

The massif is built of thick Carpathian flysch — sandstones and shales containing nummulite fossils. The summit area holds the largest boulder field in the Polish Western Beskids, and old landslides on the northern slopes have left small lakes such as Mokry Stawek, Zimny Stawek and Czarne Oko. Babia Góra is the only massif in the Polish Beskids with a true high-mountain character: the full sequence of vegetation belts survives, from remnants of the Carpathian primeval forest through spruce woods and dwarf pine to a natural alpine meadow belt on top. Researchers have counted 626 species of vascular plants; brown bear, lynx and wolf live in the forests.

The Polish national park was established in 1954, and in 1977 UNESCO listed it as a world biosphere reserve. The Slovak part lies within the Horná Orava Protected Landscape Area, with the summit slopes protected as the Babia hora nature reserve since 1974. Jan Długosz already mentioned the mountain in the 15th century, and the oldest map showing it dates from 1558. Its fickle weather earned it the nickname "Mother of Bad Weather"; it is also called the "Queen of the Beskids".

Safety, season and rules

Entry to the Polish part of the park is paid: a ticket costs 10 złoty, a reduced one 5 złoty. Walking is allowed only on marked trails. Strong wind and sudden fog are common at the top, thunderstorms occur in summer, and snow may lie for more than 200 days a year; in winter the slopes ice over and can be prone to avalanches, so check the park's announcements before setting out. On the Polish side help comes from the Beskid group of GOPR: 985 or +48 601 100 300; on the Slovak side from the Mountain Rescue Service HZS: 18 300 (+421 18 300). The general emergency number is 112.

Interesting facts

• Modern lidar and geodetic surveys (2014–2019) gave Diablak 1,723.6–1,723.8 m.
• Folk legends explain the name: in one, the mountain is a pile of stones tipped out by a giant old woman (baba).
• In communist times a plaque on the summit commemorated Lenin's alleged ascent in 1912; in 1996 it was replaced with one honouring the ascents of John Paul II.

Photos: Jakub Hałun, CC BY-SA 4.0; Rafał Kozubek, CC BY-SA 4.0; Jerzy Opioła, CC BY-SA 4.0; Jakub Hałun, CC BY-SA 4.0; Pudelek, CC BY-SA 4.0; Jakub Hałun, CC BY-SA 4.0; Jerzy Opioła, CC BY-SA 4.0 — Wikimedia Commons.