Skomielna Czarna, car park by the church in the centre of the village.

On the road connecting Pcim with Jordanów, turn in Tokarnia towards Skomielna Czarna and Bogdanówka.

 8 hours 30 minutes

              Easy/medium. The biggest challenge is the hiking time.

The parallel arrangement of the hill ranges in Beskid Makowski makes it difficult to create an interesting loop that wouldn’t include at least two ascends. There are four major and several minor ones along the proposed route. However, there’s no need to be afraid of them, as the maximum height 

Gorylka ahead

In the Church of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we can find a venerated copy of the image of Our Lady of Częstochowa. Due to the fact that this image of Virgin Mary was hung until 1946 in the temple in Kolomyia (pres. Ukraine), the local shrine is sometimes referred to as the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Kolomyia. Initially, the painting was located in the castle in Kolomyia but was later moved to the local church, from where it was taken with the last batch of repatriates. It ended up in Mielec, in the flat of the sisters Petronela Kossowska and Zuzanna Perejma, née Kossowska, who took it from Kolomyia, then to the Capuchins in Kraków, until it was transferred to the parish church in Skomielna Czarna in 1956.

We take the road between the church and the shop, looking out for signs of the green trail. We quickly pass the last buildings and begin the ascent through the fields. Soon after entering the forest, we’re already at the highest point on this section (about 25 minutes after setting off on the route) and begin the descend to Tokarnia. Coming out into the fields again, you have to turn left to reach the houses visible below. Having viewed this point, it’s safe to continue straight ahead. And so, we descend into the valley.

Having reached the main road running through the village, we turn right and follow the course of the stream for a few minutes (depending on where we descended). We then turn left, following the signpost to the Knapy estate. Walking between houses along concrete slabs, we cross the tarmac road and head towards the Durki estate. There are few signs here; we have to trust that the street is leading us in the right direction. After about 20–25 minutes of walking through the village, we start a small ascent that will take about 10 minutes.

After another quarter of an hour, we come to a tarmac road where we meet black signs, and we head left following them. After a while, we’re at a bend of the road to the right and enter between trees, crossing a small stream. Although there are no signs, you need to take the first road to the left. We now face a fairly steep ascent to the ridge of the Koskowa Góra and Kotoń ranges, and we reach their western sections in about 2.5 hours after setting off on the route. Passing the cottage-like stone chapel in the hamlet of Jaworzyna will indicate that we’re close to completing the ascent.

On some maps, the nearby hill is marked as Jaworzyński Wierch, on others as Gorylka. The latter term sounds more original, so let’s assume that at the Pod Gorylką junction, we bid farewell to the green trail and will henceforth follow the yellow signs towards Koskowa Góra. Take a rest on the nearby benches before continuing your way.

It’s time to enter Parszywka

The aforementioned yellow trail runs through the entire Koskowa Góra and Kotoń range and can lead us from Maków Podhalański to Pcim in about 8.5 hours. As a curiosity, let’s add that a second trail runs further north, leading through the entire Beskid Makowski: red signs lead from Zembrzyce through Chełm, Palcza, the Trzebuńska Góra Range and Sularzówka to Myślenice (walking time according to the signs is about 10 hours, in reality slightly less).

We head in the opposite direction, and for more than three quarters of an hour, we’ll descend gradually, passing the grave of a Home Army partisan on the way. Leaving the forest for the fields, you can immediately head cross-country to another cottage chapel visible in the distance, bearing in mind that the trail re-enters the forest to its right.

After about 10 minutes of gentle ascent, we turn left at the bifurcation, descend to the stream and, after crossing it, begin another ascent, this time towards Parszywka. It’s quite steep for more than 30 minutes, then the ascent eases. We enter the next hamlet, pass the St Anne’s chapel located there and immediately afterwards turn right towards the upper edge of the fields.

From the spot where several trees stand in a row on the right, there’s an interesting view to the east over the valley of the Raba River. From a point a little further on (below the telecommunications mast), a beautiful panorama stretches southwards: the most striking feature is the vast massif of Klimas and Zembalowa and the Luboń ridge visible behind it (with the TV mast on the left). More to the left is the long massif of Lubogoszcz, the conical Szczebel and other peaks of Beskid Wyspowy.

Shrines with interesting stories

The ascent takes a bit more effort, and finally we reach Parszywka, on top of which there’s a cross between the trees. After a while, we’ll see the Weronika chapel on our left, founded in 2020 by Rodzinna Grupa Turystyczno-Krajoznawcza ‘Nieprzemakalni’. It was dedicated to the mystery of the Resurrection of Christ, which, according to tradition, was commemorated with an image painted by divine inspiration, the so-called Mandylion. Before the polychrome work, which was carried out by Fr. Marcin Świąder, a Capuchin, was completed, the chapel was struck by lightning on 13 May 2021, which caused a fire. Some of the equipment and the icon called Descent into Hell burnt down. The work was finally completed, but the original brilliance of the interior colour scheme could not be recovered. The traces of destruction left behind, including a devil’s paw on the floor, are a reminder of how close this remarkable facility was to total destruction.

We continue walking on almost flat terrain, looking at the views to the south which appear from time to time, until, after about half an hour of walking, we reach the chapel below Koskowa Góra, where we meet the blue trail (2.5 hours from Gorylka, about 5 hours from the start of the trail).

The chapel was founded in 1910 by Jan Kosek. Inside, there’s a statue depicting Christ falling beneath the cross, which bears the name of the founder. A local legend says that the sculpture was being transported from Sidzina to Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, but the oxen pulling the cart on which it was placed stopped at the pass and refused to go any further. This was taken as God’s will to erect a shrine on this spot.

Together with the blue signs, we walk straight ahead for a few dozen metres before turning left towards the houses visible in the distance. Reaching them, we say goodbye to the yellow trail, which runs to the right to the top of Koskowa Góra and on to Maków Podhalański. In turn, we follow the blue signs along a road of openwork concrete slabs straight ahead, although it seems to lead into someone’s yard.

We walk between the buildings, go a little uphill and then start a pleasant descent. The route leads through woods and glades where strawberries, blueberries and blackberries tempt us in the summer. After about an hour from Koskowa Góra, there’s a longer but gentle ascent that takes about 15 minutes. Further on, there’s a steep descent to the road linking Wieprzec with Skomielna Czarna. The last part of it isn’t very pleasant due to numerous loose stones which can make us slip or fall.

After reaching the place referred to as Jabconiowa Rola (1.5 hour from Koskowa Góra, about 6.5 hours from Skomielna Czarna), it’s time to decide whether to continue the hike along the trail as proposed (it’ll take about 2 hours) or perhaps take a ‘shortcut’ along the road straight to the car park (over 3 kilometres, so less than an hour’s walk).

Last effort

If the weather is good, and there are no other contraindications, we propose to fulfil the plan 100 per cent and continue along the blue trail. We cross the road, pass the buildings and begin another ascent. Officially, the trail follows a small, completely overgrown ravine, so you have to hike along a barely visible path on its left side. Having reached a dirt road, we turn right, and for a few moments, we can breathe on a less demanding section. Soon, we take the turn to the left and start a steep ascent again. Approximately half an hour after setting off from Jabconiowa Rola, the slope gets less steep, and we calmly arrive at Gronie Glade, where we meet the green trail. We’ll then follow it and return to our starting point, as the blue signs lead further south to Jordanów,

while we turn left. Initially, we walk on flat ground and then head slightly downhill. Entering the next hamlet, we’ll see on our right, at some distance from the road, a wooden chapel: the Memorial Shrine to the Soldier’s Deed, erected upon the initiative of Home Army soldiers of the Podhale Partisan Division ‘Harnaś’. The intentions of the founders are explained on a nearby obelisk: So that more than just a legend remains.

Then, a gentle ascent of about 20 minutes to Stołowa Góra, and we begin the final descent to Skomielna Czarna.

As we emerge from the forest into the fields above, it’s worth stopping to retrace the route we took: you can clearly see the dirt road we started our trek on, and the massif of Kotoń emerges from behind the hill above Skomielna, while on the left, there’s Koskowa Góra with its TV masts. Everything is in sight, seemingly close, yet we’ve walked about 25 kilometres.

When descending into the village, the trail at one point enters a barely visible path. Alternatively, you can stick to the road and, making up about 100 metres, descend comfortably to the valley, where you’ll meet the green signs again, and following them, you’ll reach the road from Wieprzec, cross the Bogdanówka stream and find yourself at the car park by the church where you left your car. This is how we covered more than 26 km in the heart of Beskid Makowski.