Munczolik — also known as Szczawinka or Sypurzeń — is one of the ten highest peaks in the entire Polish Beskids, yet it remains refreshingly wild and off the beaten track. At 1356 m a.s.l., sitting right on the Polish-Slovak border, it offers a hiking experience that feels genuinely remote.
What makes this summit special is its dual identity: it stands exactly on the main European watershed, meaning rainwater falling on the Polish northern slopes eventually reaches the Baltic Sea, while water on the Slovak southern slopes flows toward the Black Sea. The peak is almost entirely forested with upper-montane spruce woodland, so the appeal here is not sweeping panoramas but the atmosphere of walking a border clearing through dense forest. The western slopes above Przełęcz Cudzichowa are steep and rocky, giving the approach some real bite. Near that pass, the Cudzichowa mountain pasture still survives as a small open clearing.
How to reach the summitThe name 'Munczolik' is of Wallachian origin and means a well-defined, forested ridge or peak — a description that fits this summit perfectly. The Wallachians who migrated through these mountains centuries ago left their mark not only in the landscape but in its very name.