Beskid (2012 m a.s.l.) is the easternmost peak of the main ridge of the Western Tatras — a modest, rocky summit that rewards visitors with surprisingly beautiful views and easy access from the cable car at Kasprowy Wierch. Sitting right on the Polish-Slovak border, it offers a panorama across two valleys at once: the Polish Gąsienicowa Valley and the Slovak Cicha Valley.
The summit itself is rocky and bare, but the surrounding slopes are gentle and grassy, making the ridge walk here genuinely enjoyable. Beskid is built from pink granites and forms part of the so-called Goryczkowa crystalline island — a small cluster of granite peaks sitting on a limestone base. Look carefully among the dwarf pine scrub on the northern slopes and you will spot limestone rock formations peeking through — a lovely reminder of the Tatras' geological complexity. In summer the grassy slopes are vivid green, in autumn they turn gold, and in winter the ridge takes on a classic snow-dusted Tatra character.
How to reach the summitA curious piece of history: at the foot of Beskid in the Gąsienicowa Valley, a local mountaineer named Eugeniusz Sieczka-Gąsienica began building a private mountain hut in 1934. The opening of the Kasprowy Wierch cable car in 1936 drove him out of business — and the last remnants of his walls, known affectionately as 'Gienkowe Mury', were only cleared away in 2006.