Sokolica

Sokolica is a 747 m rocky summit in the north-eastern part of the Central Pieniny, in the so-called Pieninki. Together with Trzy Korony it is the most popular hiking goal in the Pieniny. It lies in the Pieniny National Park within Krościenko nad Dunajcem (Nowy Targ County, Lesser Poland); central Krościenko is about 2.6 km to the north-west and central Szczawnica roughly 3.7 km to the east. Its southern walls drop almost vertically into the Pieniny Gorge of the Dunajec, and this view – a crag with a few old pines above a bend of the river – has become one of the symbols of the Pieniny.

Sokolica is separated from neighbouring Czertezik on the same ridge by the Sosnów pass. Geologically it belongs to the Pieniny Klippen Belt and is built of weathering-resistant cherty limestone.

How to get there / routes

The blue Main Pieniny Trail (part of the E3) runs along the ridge. The summit itself is a short side path off the trail, secured with metal railings: about 40 m of ascent and 7 minutes' climb.

• From Szczawnica – blue trail along the Pieniny Road to the Dunajec ferry and, on the far bank, up the so-called Sokola Perć: about 1 h 15 min (down 1 h). The park gives about 1 h up and 35 min down for this route including the ferry.
• From Krościenko nad Dunajcem – green trail via Zawiesy and Kras to the Sosnów pass, then blue to the top: about 1 h 40 min (down 1 h 20 min). The park recommends a loop “Sokolica, Pieninki from Krościenko”.
• From Trzy Korony – blue trail via Zamkowa Góra and the Pieninki ridge (Czerteż, Czertezik, Sosnów pass): about 2 h 35 min; from Czerteż 45 min, from the Sosnów pass 20 min.

What you can see from the summit

Sokolica is one of the best viewpoints over the Pieniny Gorge of the Dunajec. From the top you can see the Central and Small Pieniny, the Spišská Magura, and the Belianske and High Tatras.

Nature and history

The northern slopes are covered with beech-fir forest, and a few relict pines grow on the summit itself. A study of three trees in 1995–1996 found them to be about 550 years old – the oldest pines in Poland at the time. In 2018 one of them, the pine regarded as an icon of the Pieniny for its shape and its position on the crest above the abyss, was damaged by a helicopter during a rescue operation.

The southern rock walls fall in steps almost vertically about 310 m to the Dunajec gorge. The highest step below the summit is a nearly vertical 100 m wall, below which stands the pointed Cukrowa Głowa (“Sugarloaf”), especially striking from the Pieniny Road. The walls host lichens, alpine aster, Zawadzki's chrysanthemum and other lime-loving plants, and rarities for Poland include pale yellow corydalis, spotted fleabane, orange ragwort and Styrian meadow-grass. Wallcreepers and kestrels nest in the cliffs.

The name refers to the falcons (sokół) that once nested here. The south face was first climbed on 23 July 1960 by the Kraków climbers Roman Łazarski and Jerzy Potocki – an extremely hard, largely aid-climbing route that took 8 hours. Artists and travellers have long admired Sokolica: Józef Szalay painted it in 1857 and Franciszek Wyspiański made the first photo album of it in 1867.

Safety, season and rules

The viewing galleries on Trzy Korony and Sokolica charge a fee from 1 April to 15 November: 10 PLN (reduced 5 PLN, children under 7 free); a ticket bought on one summit is valid the same day on the other. From 16 November to 31 March no fee is charged. The ticket does not let you skip the queue. The summit path is narrow and steep, the rock is polished by thousands of boots and gets slippery after rain and in winter; hold the railings and never step beyond the fence – the south walls drop for hundreds of metres. Leave the exposed summit in a thunderstorm. Entry to the Pieniny National Park is free, but strict rules apply: walk only on marked trails (no climbing on rocks, no stepping onto meadows or beyond railings), stay in the park only in daytime – from an hour before sunrise to an hour after sunset – and do not bring dogs, fly drones, camp or light fires. The Dunajec ferry in Szczawnica operates only in the warm season – in winter it is easier to climb from Krościenko.

The Pieniny are covered by the mountain rescue service GOPR (Podhale group, stations in Szczawnica and Krościenko): call 985 or +48 601 100 300, or 112; installing the «Ratunek» app is a good idea.

Interesting facts

• In the mid-1990s the pines on the summit of Sokolica were about 550 years old and considered the oldest in Poland.
• In 1880 the press wrote that only strong people who walk the mountains well scramble up Sokolica.
• The first photo album devoted to Sokolica appeared as early as 1867.

Photos: Andrzej Otrębski, CC BY-SA 4.0; Jerzy Opioła, CC BY-SA 4.0; Jerzy Opioła, CC BY 2.5; Jakub Hałun, CC BY-SA 4.0; Mariusz Rzepkowski (MariuszR), CC BY-SA 2.5; Jakub Hałun, CC BY-SA 4.0; Tomasz2706, CC BY 3.0 — Wikimedia Commons.