It received the status of a reserve thanks to the approximately 150-year-old natural beech stands preserved here, as well as to protect the landscape of the Dunajec River Gorge (Tylmanowa Gorge). The reserve is not easily accessible, as it is located on a wild, very steep and difficult to access bank of the Dunajec River, on the slopes of Lipowiec (744 metres a.s.l.) and Wyśnia Góra (638 metres above sea level).
Moreover, the slope is bisected by a rather deep basin of the stream running to the Dunajec, called Potok Lewa Ręka [Left Hand Stream] or Potok po Lewej Ręce [Stream on the Left-Hand Side]. The reserve occupies the lower parts of the outlet of this stream. However, it is well visible from the Nowy Sącz–Krościenko road. It can be recognised by the wooden house of forest workers that stands on the shore of the Dunajec. It is home to the Carpathian beech fertile complex and the acidophilous montane beech complex.
Many rare and protected plants grow in the reserve, including mezereum, belladonna, Carline thistle, globe orchid, early-purple orchid, broad-leaved helleborine and eggleaf twayblade.