Between two peaks – Wielki Szyszak and Łabski Szczyt – lie the Snowy Cirques. They were formed by a glacier that "carved" them into the rock. There are two cirques called the Great Cirque and the Small Snowy Cirque respectively. This is a very picturesque and worth visiting place. The rock walls descend steeply, and the height difference between the peak and the bottom of the cirques is in places even 120 m!
The name of the cirques is not accidental – snow is an almost inseparable sight here and can remain even in summer. Due to the harsh conditions prevailing within the cirques, they have been protected and a strict reserve has been established in this place. It protects the alpine landscape of the cirques and the specific vegetation that thrives here.
This is the habitat of the snow saxifrage, which cannot be found anywhere else in Central Europe! Similarly, the rare species of fern – the alpine lady-fern, which apart from the Snowy Cirques, can also be found in the Tatras in Poland. Additionally, near the bottom of the cirques, you can visit the picturesque Snowy Ponds – small shallow lakes filled with crystal-clear water.
You can hike to the Snowy Cirques via the Main Sudetes Trail (red) or the yellow trail from Szklarska Poręba through the Pod Łabski Szczyt Shelter. If the effort of more than a three-hour hike is too much – it is worth choosing the green trail and from the shelter heading towards the Junction under Wielki Szyszak, admiring the majesty of the Snowy Cirques from their foothills.
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