Zimna Dziura

Zimna Dziura, also called the Ice Cave (Grota Lodowa), is a cave in sandstone on the northern slope of Szczebel in the Island Beskids, at an altitude of 655 m above sea level. It is accessible to anyone who walks the trail.

What the cave is like

It is 25 metres long and 5 metres deep. The entrance opening measures 3 by 4 metres, and a sloping entrance leads to the main chamber, up to 6 metres long. Three narrow fissures lead off it. The cave was formed by a landslide, and inside it is several to a dozen or so degrees cooler than outside, and ice can last until summer.

How to get here

The cave lies beside the black hiking trail from Lubień to Kasinka Mała, about an hour's walk from Lubień. It is about 1.3 km in a straight line from the summit of Szczebel. Local residents have known it for generations, in 1835 it was visited by the geologist Ludwik Zejszner, and the first description was made by Gotfryd Ossowski in 1882.

Practical information

• Village: Lubień, Myślenice County. The land belongs to the State Forests.
• Access by the trail, without a guide. Before entering the fissures take a torch and a warm layer.