The Jizera Mountains are one of the most peaceful and underrated ranges in the Western Sudetes — a land of sweeping peat bogs, dense spruce forests and gently rounded ridges that feel worlds away from the crowds. If you are looking for tranquillity, fresh mountain air and unspoilt nature, this is your place.

The terrain here is unusually soft and rolling — millions of years of weathering smoothed the summits into wide, open plateaus. Walking the High Ridge, you pass boggy meadows, scattered hornfels rock formations and open moorland vistas stretching all the way to the Karkonosze and the Czech hills. The eastern section of the ridge surprises with steeper slopes, shaped by exceptionally hard hornfels that resisted erosion long after the surrounding rock had worn away.

• Wysoka Kopa (1126 m) — the highest point on the Polish side, with sweeping views towards the Karkonosze
• Stóg Izerski (1107 m) — a prominent summit above Świeradów-Zdrój spa town, topped with a viewing tower
• Wysoki Kamień (1058 m) — a rocky outlook with panoramic views over Szklarska Poręba and the Kamienna valley
• Hala Izerska (Izera Clearing) — a vast peat bog with a cosy mountain shelter at its heart

• Best season: June–September for green trails and long days; February–March for cross-country skiing
• Base towns: Świeradów-Zdrój, Szklarska Poręba, Mirsk
• Trail difficulty: mostly easy to moderate — very family- and beginner-friendly
• Getting there: by car from Jelenia Góra (approx. 30 km); regular buses to Świeradów-Zdrój and Szklarska Poręba

For centuries, locals collected precious gemstones — rubies, sapphires and distinctive black minerals called 'izerines' — from the streams around the upper Izera valley, selling them as far away as Berlin and Dresden.