Palcza (approx. 425 m amsl) – Chełm (603 m amsl) – Starowidz (515 m amsl) – Zembrzyce (approx. 315 m amsl)
Walking time: 3 hrs 50 mins
A half-day, almost stroll-like route leading along the northern peripheries of the Maków Beskids. Numerous vantage points overlooking the higher parts of the Beskids, as well as the Pogórze Wielickie; on the top of Chełm there is a very interesting, age-old chapel.
Near the bus stop “Palcza Kościół” we come across the red signs of the so-called Little Beskid Trail, which we will follow during the whole trip. We go along a side road, leaving the church in Palcza on our left. Soon, we leave the asphalt and go up gently to the ridge of the Chełm range. You now have a longer stretch of flat walk along the ridge, through fields, meadows and groves, with numerous viewpoints over the Beskid Mountains and Pogórze Wielickie. Finally we encounter an asphalt road, which is approached from the right by the yellow trail from Skawinek and soon afterwards we cross another road, which leads along the green trail Budzów – Stronie. Continue along a wide, comfortable ridge road, now following the red, yellow and green waymarks to the west, passing the forester’s lodge buildings and reaching the junction of trails below the peak of Chełm Wschodni. Further on, again following only the red trail signs, we walk through a dense forest complex, first on the flat and then gently ascending through the forest, all the time following the ridge line, reaching the main peak of Chełm. Here stands an old chapel with a statue of St. Onufry. It dates to 1681 or even 1564, which, if true, would make it one of the oldest examples of small sacral architecture in the Polish mountains.
A little further we pass the grave of a World War II partisan and start our descent along a forest road to the Kramarki settlement belonging to Stryszów. Behind the settlement we go along the asphalt road Marcówka – Stryszów, leaving it by the pretty chapel from 1879. Soon the trail enters the forest, crossing the main peak of Starowidz. Soon we get to an open area and reach the lower, scenic peak of this mountain.
We go short towards the houses of Bałdyse settlement visible below. Now we have a longer descent to the Paleczka valley in Zembrzyce. At the bottom of the valley we cross a bridge and get to the centre of Zembrzyce. We pass the former manor house of Stanislaw Leliwa-Ostrzeszewicz (1807-1810) and get to the place where the provincial road Zembrzyce – Biertowice comes from the left. Here stands a very interesting chapel with a plinth covered with reliefs dating back to the 15th century. From here it is not far to the central square in the village, where, next to a bus stop in front of the parish church of St. John the Baptist, we end our excursion.
