Environmental education trail “From Pokrzywna through Olszak and the ?abie Oczko pond to Jarno?tówek”
G?ucho?azy Municipality, the Pokrzywna- Jarno?tówek trail.
Environmental education trail leading across the ?abie Oczko quarry and Karolinki rock exposures .
The trail encompasses a route of 4.3 km and it runs parallel to the blue hiking trail. The environmental education trail is marked with a green diagonal on a white square. The trail starts in the village of Pokrzywna by the Prudnik-G?ucho?azy road, near the bus stop. It leads through forest areas with a range of interesting plant species, enabling botanical observation to be conducted all through the year. Along the trail there are fully protected plants worth particular attention, such as – common periwinkle, common ivy, Martagon lily and purple foxglove. Hikers may also find beautiful white flowers of windflower, as well as fragrant sweet violets and spring peas. The trail continues to run also across an interesting mountain forest, characteristic of biotopes to be seen in the Opava Mountains. There are magnificent 120-year old beeches, oaks, younger lindens, hornbeams and spruce trees. Further on, the trail climbs up the highest mountain of the northern escarpment of the Z?oty Potok valley – Olszak. It is a hill 452 metre high. From its top the trail descends along the western slope to reach stop No. 1 – the ?abie Oczko pond. It is an old, abandoned quarry filled with water. The pond, with the surface area of around 600 sq.m., is covered by duckweed and surrounded by 17-metre rock walls. On leaving ?abie Oczko, the trail turns sharply to the left and reaches the vantage point offering a breathtaking view of the area. It stretches over the Góra Parkowa mountain (called also Góra Chrobrego) and the town of G?ucho?azy located picturesquely at its foot. Then the trail runs downhill to the north-west along a country road to reach stop No. 2 – Karolinki. These are magnificent platforms giving a superb view of the Z?oty Potok gorge valley with Jarno?tówek and Pokrzywna, and a scenic hairpin bend of the Prudnik – G?ucho?azy road. The trail leaves Karolinki and traverses to the village of Jarno?tówek to end before the bridge over the Z?oty Potok stream.
Pokrzywna- Jarno?tówek
Car, Bus, Bike