If you read the previous post, you know that my plans for stage 12 had to be adjusted due to the rain and I decided to stay overnight in Duszniki Zdrój. It didn’t seem to be a problem at first, but I totally forgot that on the next day the long weekend starts and it could be more difficult to book accommodation on the way, especially mountains huts. And this was exactly where I wanted to stay 🙂 When I called PTTK Jagodna Hut in the morning asking for bed, they only started to laugh as everything was booked out weeks before. Sleeping on the floor was also not an option due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Route: Duszniki Zdrój to Długopole Zdrój
Distance: ~ 39 km

At that point, it was clear that I have to hike all the way to Długopole Zdrój. I made a few phone calls trying to book a room and in the end, find one free at Aleksander Resort. Way overpriced, same as all the other places on that weekend. Seems like Polish people were so sick of spending time at home due to COVID-19 that once restrictions were loosened and bank holiday came, everyone set off for short city break.

Starting at Duszniki Zdrój market square, I passed the spa part of town and started the ascent towards Zieleniec, which is located 11 kilometres from the start point. The path goes very gently until Podgórze and from there it’s a bit more challenging but nothing extraordinary.

I heard the noise of cars coming from the top of the hill and unfortunately, shortly after I saw an asphalt road. It’s the Sudetes Highway. The only thing that road has in common with real highways is the name. Luckily, it’s an advantage for hikers as the red track follows it all the way to Zieleniec. Traffic is minimal so just keep to the left edge of the road and it should be fine.

With all that ski lifts around, Zieleniec must be a busy place in winter. Without snow though, it was a rather dead place and I only made a short stop at PTTK Orlica Hut to have a drink and snack.

The tracks descents 4 kilometres towards Nature Reserve Pod Zieleńcem. It’s the area with peat bogs, not very visible from the main trail but you could easily make a short detour and get closer following one of the local paths.

From here to Spalona and PTTK Jagodna Hut is around 15 kilometres without any significant elevation differences. I passed the village of Lasówka with a picturesque church. Great place for short picnic lunch. After that was a bit monotonous section through the forest until I popped out close to the ski lift at Spalona. Following it all the way to the top of the hill, I reached extremely busy at that time PTTK Jagodna Hut. Long weekend, lunchtime, mountain hut accessible by cars. All of these means one thing – crowds.

If you have time or you stay for the night in the hut, there is an easy trail blue going to the highest peak of Bystrzyckie Mountains – Jagodna (977 m n.p.m.). It’s around 4 kilometres, taking 1 hour one way. The views are particularly nice from the newly build viewing tower.

Main Sudetes Trail (red) continues from PTTK Jagodna Hut on the Sudetes Highway for 4 kilometres when it turns left and descents to Ponikwa. Be careful not to miss the sign. Before Ponikwa, it passes through the grasslands with the walking track being barely visible. The easiest is to just follow the grass crushed by other walkers and head in the direction of the buildings.

Shortly after leaving Ponikwa, the trail turns left and continues on the gravel road to my final destination. Luckily, that time I left the forest just in front of my hotel, so no more extra kilometres. It was a long day and sightseeing had to wait for the next day in the morning.

Długopole Zdrój is the smallest and probably least popular spa town along Main Sudetes Trail. The water flowing out of the excavation area of the old mine was taken for tests and proved to be healthy enough. The spa town was established in 1802 as Bad Langenau and therapeutic baths started shortly after. It’s worth to have a look at the pump house and try mineral waters. Other than that, there is nothing else to do.

The plan for that stage was more ambitious at first, but weather conditions verified it quickly. Hitting the road in Kudowa Zdrój, I turned into Słoneczna Street passing Ecocentre of Table Mountains National Park, crossing the road leading to Dańczów and in the end, arriving at Lewińska Pass (535 m a.s.l.) about 6 kilometres from starting point.

Route: Kudowa Zdrój to Duszniki Zdrój
Distance: ~ 15 km

The views until now were quite nice, despite gloomy and foggy atmosphere. The track took me through the fields and in one place there was even the gate for cattle with little wooden steps allowing hikers to pass. Something similar to what I experienced before in the Alps or New Zealand.

It’s another 3 kilometres of the gentle uphill walk towards Grodziec (803 m a.s.l.). Here I need to stop to wear rainjacket and put a rain cover on my backpack as what was initially a small shower, turned into heavy rain. There is not too much joy in such a walk and for the first time came through my mind the idea of shortening the walk for today and staying for the night in Duszniki Zdrój.

After 2 kilometres of descent from Grodziec, I arrived at the crossroad with the blue trail leading towards the ruins of Homole Castle from XIII-XIV century. As it’s only 10-15 minutes detour, I decided to check it out. The route was an easy one. First wooden boardwalk and then steps leading to the top of the castle hill. I was really happy to see the bench there as I could take off my backpack, make a sandwich and enjoy the moment without rain. I was the only person there and the fog made the atmosphere very unique.

When it comes to the ruins, there is not much left to explore and I simply walked around something that used to be the tower.

All the remaining way to Duszniki Zdrój is on a slightly downhill route, the only difficulty being mud. After around 4 kilometres, I was already in the office of tourist information, asking for their recommendation of an overnight stay. My preference was PTTK Hut Under the Muflon, however, they were fully booked. In COVID-19 times it’s better to always call and ask in advance for availability. I ended up in Agrotourism at Baltazar which happened to be quite far from the centre.

It was only around noon, so having the rest of the day free, I decided to visit the Museum of Papermaking. The ticket costs 22 PLN and it’s an interesting place to kill an hour or two. Their permanent exhibition is about the history of paper and the way it is made in the world as well as more specifically in the Silesia region of Poland. The interesting part is that you can observe the whole process live and even take part in the workshops.

Other than that, Duszniki Zdrój is another spa town en route Main Sudetes Trail and according to me, one of the most charming ones. Spa treatments began in 1751 and in 1822 pump room with mineral waters was built. During next years, development continued and many famous people visited the town, such as Frederic Chopin, who gave two charity concerts in 1826 and Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, German composer. Frederic Chopin Theatre, established in the place where Chopin gave his concerts, as well as market square are worth to have a look too.

That was it for that day. I walked all the way back to the accommodation where I stayed for the remaining part of day, simply resting and eating tons of fruits that I bought in local supermarket!

Wambierzyce town is located at around 204th kilometre of the Main Sudetes Trail and Kudowa Zdrój at 232nd. It means that somewhere between these two, I should celebrate half-way of my adventure! I was looking forward to that day also because of another reason. The track leads through the scenic Table Mountains and from what I saw online, I had all the reasons to believe that it’s gonna be awesome!

Route: Wambierzyce to Kudowa Zdrój
Distance: ~28-30km

The beginning of the day was quite miserable due to boring terrain, asphalt roads and light rain. It started to look better after 4th kilometre when I passed Studzienno and entered the Table Mountains National Park. The path was going up towards Rogacz (707 m a.s.l.). More and more weird rock formations looked at me from behind the trees. Exactly what I had been waiting for!

The terrain here is totally unbelievable and it looked even more unbelievable in cloudy and a bit foggy weather conditions. The shapes of some rocks resemble huge mushrooms, hence its name – Mushroom Rocks (Skalne Grzyby). They owe it to erosion progress of sandstone, which is way faster in the lower parts of the rocks. I admit I spent a lot of time photographing everything but it’s always a learning process to become a better photographer. Honestly, it doesn’t matter how much time I take for my shots, I am never fully satisfied with the end result. Maybe it’s lack of talent or maybe endless pursuit for perfection.

Anyway, from Rogacz it’s around 5,5 kilometres to the parking lot at Stormy Meadow (Burzowa Łąka). As always, parking lots mean that there could be more people around and the rule proved to be right also that time. I mean more people for the Main Sudetes Trail standards because usually, it was rather no people at all. Even here it wasn’t as busy as one could expect. Tourism in COVID-19 times hasn’t come back to shape yet.

The track continues of the mostly flat path called The Road Over The Cliff for further 5 kilometres. At some point, there is a small path going right (5 minutes detour). Walk it till the end and you will understand the meaning of that name. Then, the next major landmark is the Great Szczeliniec (Szczeliniec Wielki, 919m a.s.l.).

Even though the red track doesn’t lead to the top, it’s hard to resist a detour. It’s a tiring way up on the stony stairs but the place was definitely one of the biggest highlights of the day and should not be missed. There is a mountain hut at the top, in case you are in need of a hot meal or drink. The way down is even better and I recommend taking the paid alternative. It’s only 12 PLN and hiking through the amazing maze of rocks takes about 1 hour. The formations are incredible! Some parts may be very narrow and tricky with a big backpack, but it’s doable.

After the descent, I reached Karłów which is a midpoint of GSS. I felt big satisfaction of what I achieved so far and maybe it made me lose concentration and as a result, I took a wrong turn following red track but for ski runners, not hikers. Honestly, I find it very misleading to use the same colours and it took me a long time to realize that something is wrong. The signage could definitely be improved. Mapa-turystyczna.pl helped me to find my way but the whole situation cost me at least 1 hour and a few useless kilometres in my legs. Just pay attention here and don’t turn right too early. The track follows an asphalt road leading to the Errant Rocks (Błędne Skały) which is around 5 kilometres from Karłów. I had to speed up as the place was closing at 5 pm. The advantage of late arrival (4:10 pm) was that there were only a few other tourists.

The whole attraction is very similar to the Great Szczeliniec and doesn’t make such a big impression if you have already visited the other one. Crossing with the backpack was really difficult and I had to take it off in many places, struggling to push it through. I suggest to leave the luggage at the ticket office and simply come back to collect it afterwards. By doing that, your walkthrough should be much more enjoyable.

Last part of the day was made by a long (~7km) descent to Kudowa Zdrój. I was really, really tired and still had to walk to the other side of the town as I didn’t pay too much attention to the localization of my guesthouse when booking it. Don’t get me wrong, the localization was awesome, but at that moment every 100 meters mattered. In the end, the day was finished with 38 kilometres on my Endomondo training.

I can fully recommend Guest Rooms Under Lions (Pokoje Gościnne pod Lwami). Super friendly owner and very close to the main attractions of the towns in case you want to do some sightseeing. And obviously, you should do that!

What to see in Kudowa Zdrój?

The history of the spa town dates back to the beginning of the 17th century when information about the positive effects on the health of the mineral waters from Kudowa springs appeared for the first time. Only a hundred years later, bottles filled with them were regularly sent to the royal court in Berlin.

Skull Chapel

In the small building located in Czermna (one of the districts of Kudowa Zdrój) there are about 23 thousands of human skulls all over the walls and ceiling. Father Tomaszek, collected human remains that remained in the surrounding fields after the Thirty Years ‘War in 1618-1648, the Seven Years’ War (1756-1763) and the great plague of 1680. As no one was able to provide the deceased with a proper burial, and the dogs were digging up bones from the ground, the priest decided to take care of them by moving to the chapel and crypt. It is believed that he got the idea during his trip to Rome, after visiting the local catacombs.

Spa Park

It was established in the 18th century on the model of English parks and significantly expanded in the 19th century. Nice place to walk around! There is a small lake, fountains as well as a forested hill for those looking for a more challenging stroll. Mineral waters are available in drinking room.

Trail of Vanishing Trades

A time spend here is like a journey back to the past, to learn about the jobs our ancestors did, such as blacksmithing, baking bread, pottery or knitting. There is also a mini ZOO which should entertain the children for a while. Overall it’s a pretty small open-air museum, so unless you have the time to kill or you are really interested in the topic, give it a miss.

Other less impressive sights in town include: Museum of Minerals, Museum of Toys or Museum of Folk Culture of the Sudety Foothills.

I was quite optimistic about that day. The distance seemed to be just fine and there was not too much of the elevation difference. I set off from the accommodation at Silver Mountain as usual, at around 8 am and 20 minutes later I was at Silver Pass, joining the red track and heading to the Bardzkie Mountains.

A gentle walk for 4 kilometres took me to Czech Forest (Czeski Las, 621 m a.s.l.) from where it was easy descent for another 3 kilometres to Czerwieńczyce. Nothing too spectacular here. Typical Polish countryside, which would seem to be totally dead if not some chickens running around.

Route: Silver Mountain to Wambierzyce
Distance: ~ 25-26 km

My next target was Słupiec. First, the path leads in the forest but in the end, I got out of it and continued on through farmlands with the blocks of flats in the town visible on the horizon.

Słupiec was connected with Nowa Ruda in 1973. It’s an industrial city with a history strongly connected to mining, therefore from a touristic point of view it isn’t very attractive. However, I made a short break here, mainly to fly a drone around colourful blocks of flats built for miners and the mine itself.

After Słupiec is the most challenging part of the day – 2 kilometres ascent to Kościelec (647 m a.s.l.) where you can find a viewing tower (really nice panorama) and a church a little bit further.

It’s around 5 km from Kościelec to Ścinawka Średnia and here the track starts to get really muddy after last days of rain. Hiking poles are useful to navigate through the difficult terrain and no to fell down in the mud with a heavy backpack. Asphalt road starts around 2 kilometres before the village so my pace increases. Unfortunately, it also starts to rain.

The last section of the day (around 5.5 km) leads mostly through the meadows with the beautiful Table Mountains visible on my right side. I could only imagine how nice it would be to fly a drone here, but electronics and rains don’t like each other. Finally, I reached the Christian monument or something that looks like one and turned right, having huge Basilica of the Visitation of Our Lady in Wambierzyce in front of me.

This town is soooo weird. I can understand the huge church in the centre, as it is in many cities, towns and villages. Poland is ultra catholic. But in Wambierzyce literally everything has a biblical name and is somehow put in a biblical context. On the other hand, there is a local grocery shop just in front of the basilica, with local old guys standing with beers in their hands the whole day doing nothing. That’s it about religiousness.

If that wasn’t enough, the cheapest option for the night happened to be at the Pilgrim’s House. It felt a little bit weird to stay there as non-catholic but who cares. They serve good schnitzel which let all my doubts go away 🙂