Pod Rysianką Nature Reserve

The Pod Rysianką Nature Reserve protects 27 hectares of fir, spruce and beech forest on the north-eastern slopes of the pass between Rysianka and Trzy Kopce, in the Żywiec-Orava Beskids. It lies in Jeleśnia municipality, at an altitude of 950 to 1,170 metres above sea level.

What the reserve protects

The reserve was established in 1970. Its area is 27.02 ha, although the founding act gave 27.54 ha. The aim of protection is to preserve for scientific reasons a forest that is a fragment of the primeval Carpathian lower montane forest. The area belongs to the Jeleśnia Forest District and lies within the Żywiec Landscape Park.

Plants and animals

The reserve is home to 133 species of vascular plants, 13 of them protected. They include, among others, mountain bladder-fern, alpine willowherb, alpine tozzia, round-leaved oxeye daisy and Moravian monkshood. The animals include red deer, badger, fox, roe deer and wild boar, and occasionally also wolf, lynx and brown bear. Birds recorded include capercaillie, bullfinch, raven and grey wagtail.

Where it is

The Main Beskid Trail runs along the southern boundary of the reserve. The nearest points are the summit of Rysianka and the PTTK mountain hut on Hala Rysianka, and a little further the PTTK mountain hut on Hala Lipowska.

Practical information

• Village given in the data: Sopotnia Wielka, Jeleśnia municipality, Żywiec County.
• The restrictions typical of protected areas apply in the reserve. Check the rules for moving around with the Jeleśnia Forest District before entering.
• The easiest way to reach the reserve is along the Main Beskid Trail from the side of the meadow.