Nature: Sokołowsko

Nature around Sokołowsko means lower montane spruce forest, Permian rock and ridges protected as a landscape park.

What forests grow on the slopes around Sokołowsko?

On Garniec (763 m) grows lower montane spruce forest with a little beech mixed in. A similar forest covers the slopes and summit of Kozina. It is a common picture in this part of the Sudetes, but worth seeing here because the summits lie close together. Garniec sits in the Wałbrzych Mountains Landscape Park, and the Polish side of Kozina falls under the same protection. On the Czech side of the ridge lies the Broumovsko Protected Landscape Area.

What are the local mountains made of?

Garniec consists of Permian porphyry, also called latite, from the northern wing of the Intra-Sudetic Basin. Kozina is Permian porphyry tuff, or rhyolitic tuff. The other hills lie in the same corner of the Stone Mountains: Suchawa (928 m) in the western part of the Suche range, Kopica (803 m) in its middle, and Kostrzyna (906 m) and Włostowa (901-903 m). For the last two the descriptions give no geology, so we do not borrow it from neighbouring hills.

How do you plan an outing that covers several places?

Build a route linking several summits of the range around a map of the Central Sudetes. For Włostowa the sources say plainly that they describe no marked tourist facilities on the summit. So check the trails before you go and keep to the paths, since this is landscape park territory. Waligóra, Rogowiec and Borowa with its lookout tower also rise nearby, and they make good goals for the next day. Włostowa is known in German as Hohe Gebirge, and its two summits reach 901-903 m, so it is easy to spot on a map. Gomólnik Mały lies not far from Kopica. If you want to see as much nature as possible in one afternoon, pick Garniec and Kozina: both have a described forest and a protected status.

See also nature across the region, things to do in Sokołowsko and the pages on mountains and scenic views. Outside the village, look at Grzmiąca.