Szczyrk — The heart of the Silesian Beskids Skiing, a gondola and mountain trails below Skrzyczne

Szczyrk is one of the most recognisable places on the tourist map of the Polish mountains. The town spreads along the narrow, several-kilometre valley of the river Żylica in the Silesian Beskids, between two great massifs — Skrzyczne (1,257 m a.s.l.) to the south and Klimczok (1,117 m a.s.l.) to the north. It is exactly this setting, with easy access to the ridges and the slopes right above the centre, that has made Szczyrk one of the most visited resorts in the country.

In winter Szczyrk turns into a large ski region. Szczyrk Mountain Resort with Poland's biggest 10-seat gondola, the COS centre on Skrzyczne and Beskid Sport Arena in the Biła valley together offer tens of kilometres of runs for beginners and experts alike, joined by a common ski pass and backed by snowmaking systems.

In summer it is a paradise for walkers and cyclists. Waymarked trails lead up Skrzyczne, Klimczok and Magurka Wiślańska and on towards Barania Góra, while the cable cars shorten the climbs and open panoramas reaching from Babia Góra to the Tatras. Adrenaline seekers will appreciate the year-round Tatra Bob gravity track and the summer slopes.

Szczyrk is not only about sport, though. Above the town stands the Sanctuary of Our Lady Queen of Poland „na Górce" with its miraculous spring, and in the centre the wooden church of St James from 1800 — the town's oldest place of worship. The Skalite jumping complex, meanwhile, recalls a Beskid ski-jumping tradition that goes back to 1937.