Wielka Sowa

Wielka Sowa is 1,015 metres and the highest point of the Gory Sowie, a long forested ridge of very old gneiss in the Central Sudetes - the rock here is among the oldest in Poland, dated to well over half a billion years and in places considerably more. The summit carries a stone lookout tower built in 1906, restored and reopened in 2008, and because the ridge stands clear of the surrounding lower country the view is unusually wide for a mountain of this height: the Karkonosze, Snieznik, the Table Mountains, the Silesian plain towards Wroclaw, and into Czechia. The main ridge trail, part of the long-distance Sudetes route, runs along the crest and is walked end to end. The mountains are also known for a network of tunnels driven into them in the 1940s, unfinished and now partly open as visitor sites, which are the other thing people come here for.

The landscape

• A 1906 stone tower - restored and open on the summit at 1,015 metres.
• A very wide view - Karkonosze, Snieznik, the Table Mountains and into Czechia.
• Very old rock - Gory Sowie gneiss, among the oldest exposed in Poland.
• The ridge trail - the long-distance Sudetes route running along the crest.

When to go

April to October; clear autumn days for the distance. Half a day.

What to expect

The ascent is a steady hour or two from any trailhead with no difficulty. The tower charges a small fee and queues at weekends. Haze cuts the long view for much of the summer. Winter needs proper footwear.

Nearby

Walim and the tunnel sites are below; Ksiaz castle is north-west.

Key facts