The National Park
Karkonoski National Park protects the higher parts of the Karkonosze Mountains, including Mount Sudeten Mountains, which reaches a height of 1,602 m above sea level. The topography of the Park is exceptionally diverse and entails lakes in post-glacial depressions, steep cliffs, lively streams forming numerous cascades and waterfalls, and sub-crown plateaux. The most characteristic features of Karkonosze landscape are flattened bare tops with a large plateaux below postglacial cirques, and picturesque groups of rocks.
Natural Values
The character of the flora is dependent on the elevation. The lower mountain forests are made up of beech while the upper portions consist of spruce, with dwarf pine appearing at the higher elevations. The uppermost reaches, which belong to the alpine zone, are enriched with a large variety of moss and lichen species.
The flora of the Polish Karkonosze entails about 900 species of vascular plants, 452 mosses, about 400 lichens, and about 80 myxophyta. The Karkonosze flora includes many protected relict and endemic species, which underscores the uniqueness of this region's wildlife.
At the foot of the mountains, the Eurosiberian species, typical of decidous forests, dominate the local fauna. At higher altitudes mountain species are found.
Despite the extensive human exploitation of the Karkonosze wildlife and forests since the 15th century, many ecosystems, especially those mountaineous ones, have retained their natural character. However, the easily accessible lower parts of the mountains have been significantly changed. The largest tourist centers are Karpacz and Szklarska Poreba. Both are located on the park's border, and both are very popular as summer and winter vacation spots. Adjacent to this park is the Krkonose National Park on the territory of the Czech Republic.