Ziemia Kłodzka, Lower Silesia, Poland Kłodzko Land A compact travel guide for guests of Dom Skowronki Radochów near Lądek-Zdrój
A world of its own A basin of meadows and forest, ringed by mountains and bordered on three sides by Czechia. Kłodzko Land is small enough to get to know in a week and rich enough to keep you coming back. Silesians used to call it God’s own corner, the Herrgottswinkel. Drive in over any of the passes and you see why: baroque wayside chapels and stone crosses line the roads, old spa towns with pump rooms and parks sit in the valleys, and a mighty fortress keeps watch over Kłodzko. In the west the Table Mountains rise from the forest like ships of stone; in the south-east the bare dome of Śnieżnik climbs above the treeline. Dom Skowronki, the House of Skylarks, lies in the quiet eastern part of the region, in the valley of the Biała Lądecka river, five kilometres before Lądek-Zdrój. Almost everything in this guide is less than an hour’s drive away – and in the evening you are back with the skylarks, the campfire and a sky full of stars. How to read this guide The circled numbers match the map on the facing page. Distances are rounded road kilometres from Dom Skowronki. A few words that help with the names: zdrój means spa, góra mountain, jaskinia cave and twierdza fortress. The Kłodzko rose Not a rose at all but the globeflower (Trollius europaeus): golden, perfectly round, and the emblem of the region. In May and June it lights up damp mountain meadows. It is protected – admire it, but please don’t pick it. At a glance Area about 1,640 km² (Kłodzko County) Highest peak Śnieżnik, 1,425 m Spa towns five: Lądek, Długopole, Polanica, Duszniki, Kudowa National park Table Mountains (Góry Stołowe), since 1993 Border Czechia on three sides A little history For centuries the County of Kladsko belonged to the Bohemian crown, from 1742 to Prussia and since 1945 to Poland. Hence the Bohemian baroque in the churches, the Prussian fortresses on the hills – and three languages on old maps. 2 Kłodzko Land, a compact travel guide
The region on one map C Z E C H I A C Z E C H I A P O L A N D Table Mountains Owl Mountains Bardzkie Mountains Golden Mountains Bialskie Mountains Śnieżnik Massif Bystrzyckie Mountains Orlické Mountains Nowa Ruda Nowa Ruda Międzylesie Międzylesie Bardo Bardo Náchod Náchod 1 Lądek-Zdrój Lądek-Zdrój 2 Złoty Stok Złoty Stok 3 Stronie Śląskie Stronie Śląskie 4 Kletno Kletno 5 Śnieżnik Śnieżnik 6 Czarna Góra Czarna Góra 7 Międzygórze Międzygórze 8 Kłodzko Kłodzko 9 Bystrzyca Kłodzka Bystrzyca Kłodzka 10 Srebrna Góra Srebrna Góra 11 Wambierzyce Wambierzyce 12 Szczeliniec Wielki Szczeliniec Wielki 13 Błędne Skały Błędne Skały 14 Polanica-Zdrój Polanica-Zdrój 15 Duszniki-Zdrój Duszniki-Zdrój 16 Kudowa-Zdrój Kudowa-Zdrój 17 Zieleniec Zieleniec 18 Javorník Javorník 19 Dolní Morava Dolní Morava 20 Adršpach Adršpach Dom Skowronki Dom Skowronki 10 km 10 km state border state border county boundary county boundary N Dom Skowronki Lądek-Zdrój p. 4 Złoty Stok gold mine p. 4 Stronie Śląskie p. 5 Kletno, Jaskinia Niedźwiedzia Bear Cave p. 5 Śnieżnik p. 5 Czarna Góra p. 5 Międzygórze p. 5 Kłodzko fortress p. 6 Bystrzyca Kłodzka p. 6 Srebrna Góra fortress p. 6 Wambierzyce basilica p. 7 Szczeliniec Wielki p. 7 Błędne Skały rock labyrinth p. 7 Polanica-Zdrój p. 8 Duszniki-Zdrój p. 8 Kudowa-Zdrój p. 8 Zieleniec ski resort p. 9 Javorník castle p. 10 Dolní Morava Sky Bridge 721 p. 10 Adršpach rock city p. 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Schematic map, not for navigation. Dom Skowronki, Radochów near Lądek-Zdrój 3
On the doorstep For the first few days you hardly need the car: a cave, a spa park and a rocky lookout are all next door. Radochów and Radochów Cave on foot, or 3 km Behind Cierniak, the hill crowned by a pilgrimage chapel and Stations of the Cross, hides Jaskinia Radochowska – one of the earliest-known caves in the Sudetes. With helmet and headlamp you spend about 40 minutes in passages where cave bears once hibernated. Open in the warmer months; it is around 9 °C inside. Lądek-Zdrój about 5 km One of Poland’s oldest spas: people were bathing in its warm, sulphurous springs in the Middle Ages. Its centrepiece is the domed Wojciech bathhouse with a circular marble pool – you can still step into the thermal water today and taste the mineral water in the pump room. Goethe stayed here, and later the American envoy and future president John Quincy Adams. In town, look for the market square, the stone St John’s Bridge of 1565 and the hillside arboretum. 1 Trojak and Borówkowa Two viewpoints for half a day. Trojak (766 m), a cluster of crags above the spa quarter, is under an hour’s climb from the park. On Borówkowa (900 m) a lookout tower stands right on the border; the shortest ascent starts at the Lądecka Pass beyond Lutynia. Złoty Stok about 18 km Gold was mined here for more than seven centuries. In the Gold Mine (Kopalnia Złota) you ride an underground tram, stand before an underground waterfall and finish by panning for gold yourself. For children it is the highlight of the area – all the more so in the rain. 2 Festival in the valley Every September Lądek-Zdrój becomes the capital of mountain people: the Andrzej Zawada Mountain Festival brings films, talks and climbers from around the world. If you plan to come then, book early. For your first evening A stroll through the spa park, a cup of mineral water, coffee on the promenade – arrival day needs nothing more. 4 Kłodzko Land, a compact travel guide
Around Śnieżnik The highest range in Kłodzko Land begins fifteen minutes beyond Lądek: dripstone underground, a bare summit above, and valleys shaped by a Dutch princess. Stronie Śląskie and Stara Morawa about 13–16 km Just past the town, in Stara Morawa, lies a small reservoir with a sandy beach and mountain views – the best place for a hot afternoon. Next to it stands Wapiennik Łaskawy Kamień: a 19th-century lime kiln and industrial monument, now home to printmaking studios, a gallery and a Japanese garden, with guided visits in summer. 3 Kletno, Bear Cave Jaskinia Niedźwiedzia about 22 km Poland’s finest dripstone cave was discovered in a marble quarry in 1966. The guided tour takes about 45 minutes: flowstone cascades, stalactites and the bones of cave bears. It is around 6 °C inside. Important: tickets are sold almost exclusively online and often sell out weeks ahead. 4 Śnieżnik, 1,425 m From the car park in Kletno the trail takes about two and a half hours, past the mountain hut on Hala pod Śnieżnikiem, to the treeless summit. Since 2022 a 34-metre lookout tower has stood there again; on clear days the view runs from Praděd to the Giant Mountains. 5 Czarna Góra Sienna about 20 km A ski resort in winter; in summer a chairlift and bike park, with a wide panorama from the ridge. 6 Międzygórze about 40 km A mountain village from another age: wooden villas in Tyrolean and Norwegian style, the 22-metre Wilczki waterfall and, higher up on Igliczna, the pilgrimage church of Our Lady of the Snows with a view across the whole basin. With children, visit the Fairy-Tale Garden (Ogród Bajek). 7 Marianne of Orange The Dutch princess (1810–1883) bought much of the Śnieżnik massif, built roads, marble quarries and mountain huts, and turned Międzygórze into a summer resort. You will meet her name at every turn. Where three seas begin On Trójmorski Wierch, south of Śnieżnik, the catchments of the Baltic, the North Sea and the Black Sea meet. There is a lookout tower there too. Dom Skowronki, Radochów near Lądek-Zdrój 5
Kłodzko and the heart of the basin In the middle of the basin the rivers, the roads and the centuries meet: a Gothic bridge, baroque gables, Prussian bastions. Kłodzko about 20 km The fortress above the town is among the best-preserved of its kind in Poland. Climb the bastions for a view over the whole basin and, if you like, squeeze through the low countermine tunnels. Down in the old town a stone bridge lined with baroque statues crosses the mill stream – Charles Bridge in miniature. Beneath the houses, an underground visitor route runs through old merchants’ cellars. 8 Minieuroland On the edge of Kłodzko: a park of miniature landmarks set in a flower garden – a safe bet with children. Bystrzyca Kłodzka about 28 km Seen from the river, the town climbs its hill like something in Tuscany. Medieval walls, gates and towers survive; the Philumenist Museum is devoted to matches, matchbox labels and lighters. 9 Gorzanów about 24 km A sprawling Renaissance and baroque palace that a foundation has been rescuing piece by piece for years. Tours and concerts show the work in progress. Srebrna Góra about 42 km Just beyond the northern edge of Kłodzko Land, but worth the trip: the fortress on the pass is reckoned the largest mountain fortress in Europe, built in the 18th century under Frederick the Great. Tours led by guides in period uniform, and a superb panorama. 10 Rafting the gorge At Bardo the Nysa Kłodzka river has cut a narrow valley through the hills. Raft trips drift round its bends, gentle and family-friendly. About 30 km. A view without the climb From the keep of Kłodzko fortress you can see the whole basin as far as Śnieżnik – the best place to get your bearings. 6 Kłodzko Land, a compact travel guide
Table Mountains and baroque In the west a Cretaceous sea left sandstone behind, and time carved it into tables, towers and labyrinths. Wambierzyce about 40 km The “Silesian Jerusalem”: a baroque pilgrimage basilica rises above a monumental flight of steps, surrounded by a calvary of dozens of chapels. In a cottage nearby, the figures of a mechanical nativity scene have been moving since the 19th century. 11 Szczeliniec Wielki about 55 km At 919 m, the highest of the Table Mountains. From Karłów, 665 stone steps laid in 1814 lead to the top, where a circuit winds through clefts and across viewing terraces, past rocks named the Camel, the Hen and the Ape-Man. A mountain hut with a terrace on the cliff edge. 12 Błędne Skały the Errant Rocks about 58 km A rock labyrinth whose passages are in places barely shoulder-wide – children love it. The access road is single-track with alternating one-way traffic; in season book entry and tickets online in advance, or walk up from the lower car park. 13 Road of a Hundred Bends Droga Stu Zakrętów The scenic road between Radków and Kudowa-Zdrój winds through the middle of the national park – the finest way to link the two rock sights. Skalne Grzyby the Rock Mushrooms about 45 km The quiet alternative: in the forest between Wambierzyce and Batorów stand dozens of sandstone rocks shaped like mushrooms, clubs and gateways. A woodland path with no tickets and usually no crowds. National park rules Szczeliniec and Błędne Skały lie in the Table Mountains National Park. In season, roughly spring to autumn, there is an entry fee; tickets are sold online. Come early: it gets busy from late morning. A full day Drive in via Radków and you pass Wambierzyce: first the basilica, then Szczeliniec, Błędne Skały at midday, home via Kudowa-Zdrój and Polanica-Zdrój. That turns the longest drive in this guide into its most impressive day. Dom Skowronki, Radochów near Lądek-Zdrój 7
Spa towns and healing waters Kłodzko Land has five spa towns. Each has its park, its pump room and its own water – and each is a good reason for an afternoon. Polanica-Zdrój about 33 km The most elegant of the spas: a well-kept park, a riverside promenade, and in the pump room water from the Wielka Pieniawa spring. Ideal for a coffee stop on the way to the Table Mountains. 14 Duszniki-Zdrój about 42 km In 1826 the sixteen-year-old Chopin took the cure here and gave his first charity concerts; since 1946 an international Chopin festival has marked the occasion every August. On the edge of town stands the paper mill of 1605 with its curving shingle roof – now the Museum of Papermaking, where you can make a sheet of paper by hand. 15 Kudowa-Zdrój about 56 km A spa park with a pump room beneath old trees and, in the Czermna district, the Skull Chapel: walls and ceiling are lined with some 3,000 skulls and bones of victims of 17th- and 18th-century wars and epidemics. A quiet, solemn place, not for small children. The Toy Museum in the centre is more cheerful. 16 Długopole-Zdrój about 34 km The smallest and quietest spa, on the Nysa a few kilometres south of Bystrzyca Kłodzka: a park, a pump room and peace. Lądek-Zdrój about 5 km Your nearest spa is on the doorstep – and the only one with thermal water you can bathe in warm. See “On the doorstep”. How to take the waters In the pump room (pijalnia) you buy a cup for a small fee or bring your own. The water tastes of iron and fizz; drink it slowly, in small sips, while walking in the park. Music and chess in August The Chopin festival in DusznikiZdrój, the Moniuszko festival in Kudowa-Zdrój and the Akiba Rubinstein chess memorial in Polanica-Zdrój. 8 Kłodzko Land, a compact travel guide
Out and about Well-marked trails, few crowds and mountains in every size: Kłodzko Land is made for people who like to move. On foot Trails are marked with coloured stripes; the colour says nothing about difficulty. Easy outings from the house: over Cierniak to Radochów Cave (about 2 hours there and back), up Trojak from the spa park in Lądek (about 2 hours), up Borówkowa from the Lądecka Pass (about 2 hours). The big one: Kletno to Śnieżnik and back, 5–6 hours. By bike Singletrack Glacensis is one of Europe’s largest trail networks: well over 200 km of narrow, purpose-built, one-way paths arranged in loops, from family-friendly to demanding. The nearest loops start in Lądek-Zdrój, Stronie Śląskie and Złoty Stok. Bikes and e-bikes can be hired locally. In winter Czarna Góra at Sienna (about 20 km) is the nearest large ski resort; Zieleniec 17 (about 52 km) has the most reliable snow in the region. Cross-country skiers will find groomed tracks at Bielice in the Bialskie Mountains and on Jamrozowa Polana near Duszniki-Zdrój. By the water Swimming in the reservoir at Stara Morawa, rafting on the Nysa at Bardo, the thermal pool at the Wojciech in Lądek-Zdrój. Lookout towers Towers stand on many summits: Borówkowa, Śnieżnik, Trójmorski Wierch, Czernica, Kłodzka Góra, Jagodna. Each makes a half-day walk. Safe in the mountains Emergency number 112. Mountain rescue (GOPR): 985 or +48 601 100 300. The weather on Śnieżnik changes fast – a jacket and water belong in your pack even in summer. Check for ticks after walking through meadows. Maps Hiking maps at 1:50,000 or 1:30,000 are sold at every tourist information office; on your phone, try apps such as Mapy.com or mapa-turystyczna.pl. Dom Skowronki, Radochów near Lądek-Zdrój 9
Across the border Here the border is a footpath along the ridge. By car you are in Czechia in twenty minutes – normally without checks, but do carry your ID. Javorník about 16 km Over the pass beyond Lutynia (a narrow, winding road; vehicles up to 3.5 t) you roll down into the little town below Jánský Vrch castle, once the summer residence of the prince-bishops of Wrocław. Tours of the furnished rooms; the pipe collection is famous. 18 Rychlebské stezky the Rychleby Trails about 35 km Černá Voda is the start of one of Czechia’s best-known trail areas – for mountain bikers, a destination in itself. Jeseník about 46 km Above the town lies the spa where Vincenz Priessnitz founded, in 1822, what is regarded as the world’s first hydrotherapy institute. A colonnade with views of the Jeseníky mountains and woodland paths from spring to spring: a spa quite unlike the Silesian ones. Dolní Morava about 70 km On the southern slopes of Śnieżnik hangs Sky Bridge 721: a pedestrian suspension bridge 721 metres long, up to 95 metres above the valley. Next to it, the wooden Sky Walk with its slide. Buy tickets online in advance; at weekends, arrive early. 19 Náchod and Nové Město nad Metují about 65–75 km Just beyond Kudowa-Zdrój: a Renaissance castle above the town and, ten minutes further on, one of the loveliest market squares in Bohemia. Adršpach about 90 km The rock city of Adršpach and Teplice is the big sister of Błędne Skały: sandstone towers, gorges, an emerald lake. A full day out; in season, reserve parking online. 20 Good to know The currency is the Czech koruna; cards are accepted almost everywhere. You do not need a motorway vignette for the places in this guide. The drink-drive limit in Czechia is zero. On the ridge The border ridge of the Golden Mountains is one long trail: from Borówkowa you look out over both countries at once. 10 Kłodzko Land, a compact travel guide
Four days, four routes Suggestions for those who would rather not plan for long. Each day starts after breakfast and ends in time for dinner at Dom Skowronki. Underground and above the clouds Fortress and old town Rocks and baroque The slow day In the morning, the Bear Cave in Kletno – book tickets online beforehand. 1 Then up to the hut on Hala pod Śnieżnikiem and, if you like, on to the summit. 2 On the way back, Wapiennik Łaskawy Kamień and a swim in the lake at Stara Morawa. 3 Kłodzko fortress and its tunnels, then across the Gothic bridge into the old town. 1 Lunch on the square, followed by the underground route or Minieuroland. 2 Home via Bystrzyca Kłodzka: a walk along the town walls. 3 An early start: via Wambierzyce and its basilica to Karłów. 1 Climb Szczeliniec Wielki, then take the Road of a Hundred Bends to Błędne Skały. 2 Home via Kudowa-Zdrój, with coffee in the spa park at PolanicaZdrój. 3 On foot over Cierniak to Radochów Cave. 1 In the afternoon the thermal pool at the Wojciech, a cup of mineral water, a walk in the arboretum. 2 Up Trojak for sunset. 3 With children Gold Mine in Złoty Stok: tram ride and gold panning Minieuroland in Kłodzko Bear Cave in Kletno Fairy-Tale Garden in Międzygórze The rock labyrinth of Błędne Skały The beach at Stara Morawa Toy Museum in Kudowa-Zdrój When it rains Thermal pool at the Wojciech Museum of Papermaking in Duszniki-Zdrój Gold Mine in Złoty Stok Underground route in Kłodzko Philumenist Museum in Bystrzyca Kłodzka Radochów Cave (in season) Dom Skowronki, Radochów near Lądek-Zdrój 11
Good to know When to come May and June for the globeflower in bloom, September and October for long views and autumn colour, December to March for snow. Book ahead Bear Cave in Kletno, Table Mountains National Park (Szczeliniec, Błędne Skały), Sky Bridge 721, parking at Adršpach. Money Polish złoty (PLN); cards are accepted almost everywhere. Keep coins for parking meters, pump rooms and mountain huts. Driving Dipped headlights at all times; the drink-drive limit is 0.2‰ in Poland and zero in Czechia. Mountain roads are narrow – allow more time than the sat-nav promises. Emergencies European emergency number 112. Mountain rescue (GOPR): 985 or +48 601 100 300. Language In the spa towns and at the major sights you will get by in English or German; a “dzień dobry” (good day) opens every door. Online Bear Cave jaskinianiedzwiedzia.pl Radochów Cave jaskiniaradochowska.pl Gold Mine kopalniazlota.pl National park pngs.com.pl Sky Bridge 721 dolnimorava.cz Wapiennik lime kiln wapiennik.art As of October 2026. Opening times, prices and booking rules change – please check each attraction’s website before you go. Dom Skowronki Gospodarstwo Agroturystyczne “Skowronki” Karina Fuglińska Radochów 144 57-540 Lądek-Zdrój, Poland Tel. +48 74 814 78 02 Mobile +48 503 063 860 www.domskowronki.com See you among the skylarks. Getting here Wrocław 120 km Prague 220 km Vienna 320 km Berlin 410 km Text and design: ateliertriartes.com
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