Czertezik (772 m a.s.l.) is the second highest peak in the Pieniny Właściwe range — a long, narrow ridge of crinoid limestone crowned with a nearly 40-metre cliff. It sits just two metres below its neighbour Czerteż, but more than makes up for it with a spectacular view over the middle section of the Dunajec Gorge.
From the summit viewpoint you look down onto the winding ribbon of the Dunajec River squeezed between sheer limestone walls — a sight that is especially dramatic in autumn when the beech forest blazes with colour. The steep southern slope plunges toward the river and the deep valley of Pieniński Potok, draped in sparse pine-beech woodland that gives this side a wild, remote feel. The northern slopes are covered in denser beech-fir forest. A metal railing at the top keeps visitors safely back from the cliff edge.
How to reach the summitThe name Czertezik has Wallachian roots, derived from a word meaning 'a bright, cleared forest' — a reminder that a sunny glade once occupied these slopes long before the trees reclaimed them.