Siwa Kopa, also known as Pleśniowiec, is a border peak in the Złote Mountains that may not impress with sheer altitude (790 m), but wins hearts with its dome-shaped silhouette and wild, forested character. It's a spot for hikers craving quiet immersion in near-natural woodland rather than crowded trails.

The slopes are covered with mixed lower-montane forest, giving way near the summit to spruce forest mixed with deciduous trees — remnants of a once-dense primeval forest, including stunted old-growth trees near the top. The summit itself is subtle and rounded, but a small clearing offers views over the surrounding hills of the Złote Mountains. The southwestern slope drops steeply toward the upper Biała Lądecka valley, adding a dramatic contrast to the gentler ridge sections.

How to reach the summit

• Przełęcz Gierałtowska pass (685 m) — red trail, moderate approach, continuing onward through Žulová to Javorník
• The green trail runs along the northern slope below the summit, connecting Siwa Kopa with Borówkowa, Karpień castle, and Śnieżnik

Good to know

• The summit sits directly on the Polish-Czech border, partly within the Śnieżnik Landscape Park
• Old granite boundary posts still show traces of the letter D being reworked into P — a curious remnant of post-war border marking
• Near the northeastern foot lies the V Hraničkách spring, on the site of the now-vanished settlement of Hraničky

A fun historical detail: right after World War II, surveyors reused old pre-1937 Czechoslovak-German boundary stones, simply hammering the German letter D into a Polish P.