Babia Góra National Park is one of the most ecologically precious corners of the Polish Carpathians — a realm of ancient forests, peat bogs and alpine ridges where you can walk through almost every mountain vegetation zone in a single day. The summit of Diablak (1725 m) delivers a true high-alpine feel, and yet it sits right in the heart of the Beskidy range.

The landscape shifts dramatically with altitude. Dense beech and fir forests cloak the lower slopes, giving way to spruce thickets, then sprawling dwarf pine, and finally a bare, rocky alpine belt just below the summit. Spring brings carpets of anemones and wild garlic on the lower paths; summer offers sweeping panoramas across the Tatra Mountains and Slovak Orava from the ridge; autumn sets the forest ablaze with colour; and winter — since a 2023 pilot scheme — has opened some trails to skiers when snow conditions allow.

• Zawoja-Markowe Szczawiny — red trail (main ridge route), approx. 2.5–3 hrs ascent, moderate difficulty
• Przełęcz Krowiarki pass — yellow trail from the pass, a good option for a shorter outing or loop return, moderate

• Movement is permitted only on marked trails — going off-trail is strictly prohibited.
• The park receives over 100,000 visitors a year; start early in summer and autumn to avoid crowds.
• The Educational Centre in Zawoja (park headquarters) is well worth a visit before heading out on the trails.
• Skiing is permitted only on designated sections and only when sufficient snow cover exists, under the pilot programme introduced in 2023.

The park's emblem plant — the sermountain — grew in Poland exclusively here for many years, making Babia Góra a site of unique botanical importance. Brown bears, wolves and lynx all roam these forests, while otters and dippers can be spotted along the streams. Few places in the Carpathians feel this genuinely wild.