Sokolica (Babia Góra)

Sokolica is a 1,367 m viewpoint on the north-eastern ridge of the Babia Góra massif in the Żywiec Beskids, in Poland close to the Slovak border. It is the lowest and easternmost named point on that ridge: its eastern slopes fall straight to the Krowiarki Pass (about 1,010 m), while to the south-west the main Babia Góra ridge climbs to the next top, Kępa, and on towards Diablak. Sokolica carries the boundary between the villages of Zawoja (Sucha County) and Lipnica Wielka (Nowy Targ County), and the whole mountain lies in the Babia Góra National Park. The nearest Zawoja hamlet, Policzne, is about 3 km away, and the Markowe Szczawiny PTTK hut is 3.4 km to the west.

Sokolica does not form a sharp summit: it is a distinct flattening of the ridge, a natural platform. On the north-western side it is cut by a rock cliff a dozen or so metres high, the scar of a massive rockfall several hundred years ago. The steep slopes below the cliff are strewn with large boulders and covered with dwarf pine and forest; the rest of the slopes are wooded, with dwarf pine higher up. The ridge carries the European watershed between the Black Sea (Danube) and the Baltic (Vistula).

How to get there / trails

• Red Main Beskid Trail (GSB): Krowiarki Pass — Sokolica — Kępa — Gówniak — Diablak. From Krowiarki to Sokolica takes about 1 h (30 min down). It is one of the most popular ways up Babia Góra; according to the park, the whole section from Krowiarki to Diablak is 4.6 km long.
• Green trail "Perć Przyrodników" (Naturalists' Path) — up the steep northern slopes from the Szkolnikowe Rozstaje junction to Sokolica, about 40 min (30 min down). The two trails meet on the Sokolica ridge.
• In winter a marked 1.5 km ski route runs from Sokolica down to Krowiarki.

The Krowiarki Pass, where most hikers start, lies on the road between Zawoja and Lipnica Wielka.

The view from the top

Thanks to the treeless cliff, Sokolica is a superb viewpoint on the way to Diablak. The summit platform has been paved with stone and fenced; there are benches and boards of the educational trail "In the footsteps of Wawrzyniec Szkolnik". The panorama takes in the Babia Góra ridge, the peaks of the Silesian Beskids — Barania Góra, Skrzyczne and the Klimczok group — the Jałowiec range, the Polica range, the Little and Maków Beskids and the long village of Zawoja below.

Nature and name

In the second half of the 19th century a golden eagle nested in the cliff; local people took it for a falcon (sokół), which gave the mountain its name. According to linguist Aleksy Siemionow, the more correct form is Sokolice, as already recorded by Andrzej Komoniecki (1658–1728), author of the "Chronography, or Żywiec Chronicle". The form Sokolica was fixed by an Austrian map and has remained on later maps and in all publications. The slopes of Sokolica are part of the protected forests and dwarf-pine belt of the Babia Góra National Park.

Safety, season and rules

The platform is fenced, but take care near the edge of the cliff, especially with children. In autumn and winter the trail above the tree line becomes icy and snow-covered: the park recommends trekking poles and microspikes, warm clothing, a torch and a charged phone, not hiking alone and telling someone your route. In the Babia Góra National Park you may walk only on marked trails and there is an entrance fee; current notices are published by BgPN.

Mountain rescue in the Beskids is provided by GOPR: 985 or +48 601 100 300, and 112.

Photos: Andrzej Otrębski, CC BY-SA 3.0; Jakub Hałun, CC BY-SA 4.0; Jerzy Opioła, CC BY-SA 3.0; Jerzy Opioła, CC BY-SA 3.0; ŁukaszWu, CC BY-SA 4.0 — Wikimedia Commons.