Hostel on Wielka Racza
Wielka Racza is the highest mountain in the western part of the Żywiec Beskids. The mountain’s name gave birth to the name of the whole mountain group – the Wielka Racza Group, or Worek Raczański. It is also the highest peak of the Kysuca Beskids (the Slovak part of the Żywiec Beskids). It is located on the main ridge of the Żywiec Beskids, which marks the Polish-Slovak border and the European watershed. Between the three ridges of Wielka Racza there are three valleys, with three creeks flowing down: Racza, Klubinský, and Oszczadnica. The viewing platform installed on the peak of Wielka Racza offers a view of a wide panorama with the characteristic group of the Little Fatra.
The hostel, situated below the mountain peak, was opened on 17 December 1934. The consequences of the imminent war, however, took a toll on the building. In 1963 there were plans to demolish the hostel. The efforts of – among others – Edward Moskała, a tourist activist, to save it from this fate, proved to be successful; instead of it being demolished, it was thoroughly renovated. In the 1990s the hostel was extended, and another major renovation took place in 2018. Today the hostel offers 50 beds. Below the mountain peak on the Slovak side, there is a ski resort – Snow Paradise Veľká Rača Oščadnica – which consists of a more than a dozen ski trails with different difficulty levels.
1230 m.a.s.l.
Beds: 50
Buffet: 8.00 - 20.00
You can pay with a card
Dogs are allowed
PTTK Hostel on Wielka Racza
Rycerka Górna
34-370 Rajcza
NEARBY ATTRACTIONS
- Observation tower with a 360° panorama and the best view in Poland of the Little Fatra.
- Educational trail through the oldest nature reserve in the area of Żywiec, “Śrubita”, with a two-hundred-year old beech and fir forest.
- St. Laurence and Casimir church with an icon of Our Lady of Casimir, donated to Rajcza by King John Casimir in the 17th century.
- Ski resort Snow Paradise Veľká Rača Oščadnica.
TRAILS
from Rycerka Górna Kolonia – 2 h
from Oszczadnica through Chata na Rači [Cottages on Rača] – 2 h 40´
from the Przegibek pass – 3 h 40´
from Zwardoń – 5 h
RECOMMENDED FURTHER HIKING DESTINATIONS
- PTTK Hostel on Przegibek – red trail until the junction of trails under Bania, subsequently black trail – 3 h 10´
- Cottage under Skalanka through Kikula, the Border Beskids – red trail – 3 h 40´
- PTTK Mountain Hut on Rycerzowa – red trail to the Halna pass under Rycerzowa, subsequently black trail – 5 h
