Region: Low Beskid Mountains

Low Beskid Mountains – a mountain range in the Carpathian Mountains between the Łupkowska Pass in the east and the Tylicz Pass in the west. The eastern border of the Low Beskids is also the border of the Eastern and Western Carpathians. From the east it borders with the Bieszczady Mountains, from the north-east with the Bukowskie Foothills, from the west with the Sącz Valley, from the south-west with the Sącz Beskid Mountains, and from the north with the Środkowobeskidzkie Foothills.

The highest peak on the Polish side is Lackowa (997 m a.s.l.), and on the Slovak side Busov (1002 m a.s.l.), which is the only one that exceeds 1000 m.

In the center of the Low Beskids there is the Magurski National Park, and in the eastern part of the Jaśliska Landscape Park. The Low Beskids are the lowest and at the same time the most extensive part of the Beskids and the entire arc of the Carpathians.

The Low Beskids are divided into: the Grybów Mountains, the Hańczowa Mountains, the Gorlice Beskids, the Magura Range, the Dukiel Beskids, the Bukowica and Stone Range, Jawornik’s Nest, the Border Range, and the Rymanów Hills.

The Low Beskids are made of sedimentary rocks called the Carpathian flysch. These are usually alternating beds of conglomerates, sandstones and shales. The lowest is the Silesian Nappe, the middle one is the Dukla Nappe, and the highest one is the Magura Nappe. Magura sandstone outcrops often take the form of fantastic rock formations. The most famous are Kornuty on Magura Wątkowska and Diabli Kamień near Folusz. There are also many caves. The largest clusters of them are Kilanowska Góra near Lipowica (about 70 caves) and Cergowa (11 caves). The Mroczna Cave in Kornuty is well-known, the total length of its corridors reaches almost 200 m, and the depth is 15.5 meters.
In the Low Beskids there are only two vegetation levels: the foothills (up to 550 m a.s.l.) and the lower mountain forest. The foothills are made up of the remains of original oak and hornbeam forests, alders and wicker thickets in the river valleys, while the lower montane forests are fir, beech and pine forests. Beech stands are particularly numerous, and spruce is almost absent.

Hikes in the Low Beskid Mountains: