Karkonosze National Park

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Karkonosze National Park
IUCN Category II (National Park)
Location:	Karkonosze, Poland
Area:	55,76 km²
Established:	1959
Governing body:	Ministry of the Environment

Karkonosze National Park (Polish: Karkonoski Park Narodowy) is a national park in the Karkonosze Mountains in southwestern Poland.

The national park is located in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship, along the border with the Czech Republic. It was created in 1959 on the area of 55.10 km²; today it is slightly bigger and covers 55,76 km² (of which 17.18 km² are strictly protected). The biggest part of the park is forested - around 33.80 km². In 1992 Karkonosze National Park, together with its Czech equivalent, became part of UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Programme (MaB).

The Karkonosze Mountains are the highest range of the Sudetes. Its highest peak - Śnieżka (1602 meters above sea level) is unique in its rounded, treeless cap and it stands in sharp contrast against other, lower peaks.

The Karkonosze Mountains are situated on the division of the European water system - it divides the basins of two rivers – the Elbe and the Oder – which means that it separates the basins of the Baltic Sea and North Sea. Many of the Karkonosze’s streams come down the hills, creating waterfalls, the biggest of which in the Polish part of the mountains (300 m) is created by the Łomniczka stream.

There are about 100 various birds living in the park, the most numerous of animal species living there. In the higher parts of the mountains there are fewer species of them; in the lower levels there are 100 varieties, but in the peaks there are not more than 10. The park has four species of fish, six species of amphibians, and five species of reptiles. The park's attraction are mouflons, brought here at the beginning of the 20th century.

Karkonosze National Park is visited by more than 1.5 million tourists yearly. They can use 112 kilometres of walking paths, 10 ski lifts and 12 guest houses. The most attractive time of the year to visit the park is from mid-May to mid-October.

The management address is: ul. Chałubinskiego 23, 58-570 Jelenia Góra, Poland