Lakes and bathing areas
four ponds of different water colours, formed in the workings of former pyrite mines from the late 18th century
Mountains
the fourth highest peak of the Rudawy Janowickie, overgrown and without an observation tower
Mountains
a forested ridge of the Rudawy Janowickie with the Popówka rock, within the Rudawy Janowickie Landscape Park
Wieściszowice is home to the Coloured Lakes in the Rudawy Janowickie, the Purple Pond and the peaks Wielka Kopa and Mnichy.
The Coloured Lakes are four small ponds below Wielka Kopa, named for the colours of their water: Yellow, Purple, Blue and Green, also called the Black Pond. They are not natural lakes but flooded old pits of German pyrite mines. Entry is free.
The most photographed is the Purple Pond, the smallest, at about 560 m above sea level. High walls of the Hoffnung mine pit, opened in 1785, surround it, within Rudawy Landscape Park. Its intensely purple water stands out from afar against the green of the forest.
Wielka Kopa (871 m) is the fourth peak of the Rudawy Janowickie range and the highest in its eastern part. Before 1945 a wooden lookout tower stood there; today the summit is overgrown and has no tower, so do not expect a panorama. An alternative is Mnichy (694 m), a separate ridge branching off the Wielka Kopa massif, made of amphibolite, with the Popówka rock on its eastern slope. Both goals are free and good for walking alone.
Also check attractions in Kamienna Góra, Lubawka, Błażejów, Chełmsko Śląskie and Jarkowice.
