Przehyba

Przehyba (also Prehyba or Przechyba) is a summit about 1,175 m high in the western part of the Radziejowa range of the Sądecki Beskids in southern Poland. It lies on the main ridge of the range between Wielka and Mała Przehyba. The boundary between the village of Szlachtowa (Nowy Targ County) and Gaboń (Nowy Sącz County) in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship runs over the summit. Przehyba is one of the most easily accessible summits of the range and an important junction of hiking trails; on the neighbouring western top stand a large PTTK mountain hut and an 87 m television tower.

Getting there / trails

Trails from Szczawnica, Krościenko, Stary Sącz, Rytro, Jazowsko and Piwniczna meet on Przehyba. Times are from Polish Wikipedia:

• red — the Main Beskid Trail (GSB), section Rytro – Krościenko nad Dunajcem: from Rytro 5 h 25 min (down 4 h 50 min), from Radziejowa 1 h 15 min (back 1 h 30 min), from Krościenko 4 h 35 min (down 3 h 50 min), from Dzwonkówka 2 h 10 min. According to OpenStreetMap, the international Eisenach – Budapest route and the European path E3 follow the same ridge;
• blue — Szczawnica – Przehyba – Rytro: from Szczawnica 3 h (down 2 h 25 min), from Rytro 3 h 50 min (down 3 h 05 min);
• green — Szczawnica – Gabańka – Przehyba – Jazowsko: from Szczawnica 2 h 50 min (down 2 h 10 min), from Jazowsko 3 h 40 min;
• yellow — Stary Sącz – Moszczenica Wyżna – Przehyba: from Stary Sącz 4 h 50 min, from Moszczenica 3 h 10 min.

A paved road also leads up from Gaboń, so Przehyba is popular with cyclists too. The PTTK hut stands at 1,138 m on the western top (Mała Przehyba); in winter a 200 m T-bar ski lift operates next to it.

What you can see from the top

From the glade covering the ridge there are views south to the Pieniny and the Tatras and north to the Sącz Basin. From the trails of the Radziejowa range itself the summit is hard to make out, as it usually hides behind Złomisty Wierch and Skałka. Przehyba is best seen from the ridge of the Little Pieniny, and the steel relay tower can be seen even from the Tatras.

Nature and history

The name Przehyba (originally Perehyba) is a Slovak name adapted by the Rusyns who once lived in the nearby Ruś Szlachtowska; it means "pass". At first it referred only to the mountain pasture and was later transferred to the summit. A side ridge with Góra Pieniążna, Kiczora and Stary Wierch runs south from the summit, while the northern slope falls to the Jaworzynka stream.

The idea of building a hut on Przehyba was put forward in 1908 by Kazimierz Sosnowski, but the Szlachtowa community refused for decades to sell land. Only in 1936 was a plot bought from Count Adam Stadnicki, and in November 1937 the hut, named after Sosnowski, welcomed its first visitors. During the Second World War the building served partisans and at the end of 1944 the Germans burned it. A new stone hut opened in 1958; on 17 December 1991 its wooden part burned down and the building was rebuilt in the 1990s. Today there is also the small "Betlejemka" shelter from 1953, the "Sosnowski's Study" centre of mountain tourism history and a chapel. The radio and TV station with its 87 m tower covers areas more than 100 km to the north.

Safety, season and rules

The trails to Przehyba are forest paths and ridge tracks without technical sections and can be walked all year round; in winter the Radziejowa ridge is covered by deep snow, and in windy weather the open glades are very cold. The summit is not in a national park, but part of the range lies in the Poprad Landscape Park, so keep to marked trails and leave no litter. Przehyba has a duty station of GOPR rescuers from the Krynica group. Emergency numbers: GOPR 985 or +48 601 100 300, general 112.

Interesting facts

• The Przehyba hut took almost three decades to build: from the first idea in 1908 to the opening in 1937.
• The steel relay tower on Przehyba can be seen even from the Tatras.
• Three long-distance routes cross Przehyba: the Main Beskid Trail, Eisenach – Budapest and E3.

Photos: Jakub Hałun, CC BY 4.0; Jakub Hałun, CC BY 4.0; Jerzy Opioła, CC BY-SA 4.0; Zalasem1, CC BY 4.0; Zalasem1, CC BY-SA 4.0 — Wikimedia Commons.