Polica (1,369 m a.s.l.) may live in the shadow of the mighty Babia Góra nearby, but this forested summit in the Beskid Żywiecki range has a character — and a history — entirely its own. It rewards hikers with a peaceful ridge walk, a surprising depth of stories, and a genuine sense of being somewhere that has mattered to people for centuries.

The massif is largely covered in dense forest, giving the hike a cosy, sheltered feel that is particularly magical in winter snow or in the soft greens of early summer. The summit ridge carries the Great European Watershed — rain falling on one side eventually reaches the Baltic Sea, while rain on the other flows toward the Black Sea. Views open toward the Czernica ridge and the surrounding valleys of Skawica and Zubrzyca.

• Krowiarki Pass — Main Beskid Trail (red), approx. 2 h 45 min to the summit, moderate difficulty
• Przełęcz Zubrzycka (877 m) — blue trail along the Czernica ridge, moderate difficulty

• On the summit stands a cross and a monument commemorating the 53 victims of a LOT Polish Airlines crash on 2 April 1969
• A nature reserve named after Prof. Zenon Klemensiewicz was established here in 1972 — stay on marked trails
• The yellow trail from Skawica via Hala Krupowa is called the Papal Trail — Karol Wojtyła hiked it in September 1978, just before becoming Pope
• At the foot of the mountain lies Jaskinia Oblica — the longest and deepest cave in the entire Beskid Żywiecki (416 m of passages, 21 m deep)

The name 'Polica' comes from the local highland dialect and once meant the shelves inside a shepherd's hut where cheeses were stored — a small but vivid glimpse into the pastoral life that shaped these mountains.