Krowiarki Pass

Krowiarki Pass lies in the Babia Góra Range, in the Żywiec Beskids, and separates the Babia Góra massif from the Polica Range. It can be crossed by car, which is why it is one of the easiest starting points for hikes in this part of the Beskids.

Where it lies and how high

The pass is at the meeting point of the boundaries of three villages: Zawoja in Sucha County, and Zubrzyca Górna and Lipnica Mała in Nowy Targ County. Sources give different heights, from 986 to 1012 m above sea level. Wikipedia calls Krowiarki the highest mountain pass in the Western Beskids accessible by road. On one side rises the Babia Góra massif, on the other the ridge of Polica.

Origin of the name and history of the road

The name comes from the folk term "krowiarki", meaning the shepherdesses who grazed cows on the pass clearing. In the past the pass was also called Lipnickie Siodło or Przełęcz Lipnicka. A dirt road known as the Orawski Chodnik led from Zawoja to Orava through here. Before the Second World War work began on a paved road, but only the section from Zubrzyca Górna to the pass was built. In 1938 Karol Wojtyła, then a student, worked on this construction in the Junacki Hufiec Pracy (Junak Labour Corps), which is commemorated by an obelisk on the clearing. The second section, from Zawoja, was built in 1968-1969. Today it is provincial road no. 957.

What is on the clearing

On the Krowiarki clearing there is a ticket sales point for entry to Babia Góra National Park, a tourist information point and a buffet. On the pass there is also a symbolic grave of Prof. Zenon Klemensiewicz, who died in 1969 in a plane crash on Polica. A hundred metres beyond the pass, by the road on the Orava side, there is a paid car park.

Nearby

Not far away, in Zubrzyca Górna, is the Orava Ethnographic Park, and on the Babia Góra side it is worth checking the location of the Markowe Szczawiny PTTK mountain hut. Check the course and marking of the trails leading from the pass with Babia Góra National Park before setting out.

Practical information

• Location: provincial road no. 957 between Zawoja and Zubrzyca Górna.
• Parking: paid, about 100 m beyond the pass on the Orava side.
• Tickets to the national park: at the point on the Krowiarki clearing; check the hours on the park's website.