Lysa Gora and the Boulder Fields

The Swietokrzyskie mountains are among the oldest in Europe and have been worn down to wooded ridges of a few hundred metres, which is why the walk up Lysa Gora feels gentle until the trees open. The summit carries goloborza, fields of loose quartzite blocks left by frost shattering long ago, with no soil and almost no vegetation on them. A wooden platform runs out over one field so the scale is visible without walking on the stones. The rest of the ridge is covered by a fir and beech forest protected as the core of the national park, dark and damp even in summer.

What you actually see

• The boulder fields - open slopes of bare quartzite blocks with a viewing platform built out over them.
• The summit forest - tall fir and beech growing on the ridge, protected and left to fall where it dies.
• The abbey complex - the old monastery buildings occupying the summit, with a tower visible from the trail.
• The royal trail - the stone paved historic route climbing from Nowa Slupia to the top.

When to go

April to October covers it, with May and October the most pleasant for walking under the trees. Summer is humid in the forest and the trailhead car park fills on weekends. The stones are treacherous when wet or icy, so avoid the day after heavy rain. Weekday mornings are close to empty even in season.

Honest expectations

These are hills rather than mountains and there is almost no view except from the platform, which disappoints people expecting a panorama. The park charges for trail entry, which some visitors find unexpected. The path is stony and awkward in places, weekends are busy with school groups, and the summit buildings are separately ticketed and not always fully open.

Nearby

Kielce and the Raj cave are within an hour, and the ridge continues west towards Lysica, the range's highest point.