Mieczysław Orłowicz Main Sudetes Trail (, GSS) is a public hiking trail in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

running along the

Sudetes The Sudetes ( ), also known as the Sudeten Mountains or Sudetic Mountains, is a geomorphological subprovince of the Bohemian Massif province in Central Europe, shared by the Czech Republic, Poland and Germany. They consist mainly of mountain rang ...

. The total length of this route is 443 km and the approximate time to cover it is about 120 hours. The trail was constructed in 1947 and throughout its history has been several times modified. It is blazed red.

Towns and landmarks on the trail

The trail starts in Świeradów Zdrój in the

Jizera Mountains Jizera Mountains (), or Izera Mountains (; ), are part of the Western Sudetes on the border between the Czech Republic and Poland. The range got its name from the Jizera (river), Jizera River, which rises at the southern base of the Smrk (Jizera), ...

. In

Szklarska Poręba Szklarska Poręba () is a town in Karkonosze County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. The town has a population of around 6,500. It is a popular ski resort. An important regional and national centre for mountain hiking, cycli ...

it enters the

Giant Mountains The Giant Mountains, Krkonoše, or Karkonosze (Czech: , , ), are a mountain range located in the north of the Czech Republic and the south-west of Poland, part of the Sudetes mountain system (part of the Bohemian Massif). The Czech–Polish bor ...

, the highest mountain range on its way. For the next 20 km it merges with the Polish–Czech Friendship Trail at Szrenica and runs on the main ridge along Polish and Czech border, to reach its culminating point,

Sněžka Sněžka () or Śnieżka (, ) is a mountain on the border between the Czech Republic and Poland, the most prominent point of the Silesian Ridge in the Giant Mountains. At , its summit is the highest point in the Czech Republic, in the Lower Siles ...

, the highest peak in the

. The path then descends to Karpacz and leads through another mountain range, the Rudawy Janowickie. Having passed Krzeszów, the Stone Mountains and

Owl Mountains The Owl Mountains (; ; ; ) are a mountain range of the Central Sudetes, Central Sudetes in southwestern Poland. It includes a protected area called Owl Mountains Landscape Park. Geography The Owl Mountains cover an area of about and stretch ove ...

, the trail enters the area of the Kłodzko Valley and runs along the ridge of the Table Mountains with its reserves, spas such as Polanica-Zdrój,

Duszniki-Zdrój Duszniki-Zdrój (; ; ), often simplified to Duszniki, is a spa town in Kłodzko Valley and Kłodzko County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in southwestern Poland. As of December 2021, the town has a population of 4,329. Situated on the Bystrzyca Rive ...

and

Kudowa-Zdrój Kudowa-Zdrój (, ), or simply Kudowa, is a town located below the Table Mountains in Kłodzko County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in the southwestern part of Poland. It has a population of around 10,000 and is located at the Polish-Czech border, j ...

and the Stołowe Mountains National Park, one of the youngest national parks in Poland. Then it inclines to the north to run through the Sněžník Mountains, the second highest point on the route, then along the Golden Mountains. The trail finishes in

Prudnik Prudnik (, , , ) is a town in southern Poland, located in the southern part of Opole Voivodeship near the border with the Czech Republic. It is the administrative seat of Prudnik County and Gmina Prudnik. Its population numbers 21,368 inhabitant ...

to include the Opawskie Mountains as part of

, although until 2009 it used to finish in

Paczków Paczków (; ) is a town in Nysa County, Opole Voivodeship, in southern Poland, with 7,460 inhabitants (2019). It is one of the few towns in Europe in which medieval fortifications have been almost completely preserved.avalanche An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a Grade (slope), slope, such as a hill or mountain. Avalanches can be triggered spontaneously, by factors such as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, othe ...

s (

) as well as dangerous

marsh In ecology, a marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous plants rather than by woody plants.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p More in genera ...

es ( Stołowe Mountains). It does not involve any kind of advanced climbing, neither the mountain ranges are steep; nevertheless the long-distance hiking requires advance preparations. In the most difficult parts climbing aids are provided. The trail has numerous junctions with other trails and public paths. In the Giant Mountains, it is accessible through

chairlift An elevated passenger ropeway, or chairlift, is a type of aerial lift, which consists of a continuously circulating steel wire rope loop strung between two end terminals and usually over intermediate towers. They are the primary on-hill tran ...

s from both the Polish and Czech sides. There are many

mountain hut A mountain hut is a building located at high elevation, in mountainous terrain, generally accessible only by foot, intended to provide food and shelter to mountaineering, mountaineers, climbing, climbers and Hiking, hikers. Mountain huts are us ...

s and small hotels, especially in the western and middle parts, although some of them offer only common sleeping rooms and refreshments. Polish mountain huts are obliged to overnight each person who is not able to find any other place before sunset or in an emergency.Regulamin schroniska PTTK
etrieved 2009-12-25/ref> Booking in advance is recommended. Most of the huts are run by the PTTK (Polish National Tourist Society). Refreshments and organised forms of catering are available on each part of the trail, although it is recommended to bring one's own food.

References

External links

*
Online trail map
{{DEFAULTSORT:Glowny Szlak Sudecki Sudetes Hiking trails in Poland