Nature Reserve of Mount Barania
The Nature Reserve of Mount Barania with an area of 383 hectares was opened in 1953. Its aim was and still is to preserve and protect the Highland Forest and the sources of the Vistula River. The sources of the river are located on north-west slope of Mount Barania at the height of 1080 meters above the sea level in a very rocky area among sandstones of Istebna. The valley of the White Vistula River is famous for its picturesque waterfalls - the highest in the Silesian Beskid Mountains, since 1987 they have been named Kaskady Rodła.
The sources of the Black Vistula River are at the top of Mount Barania on its south, very steep slope at the height of 1.130 meters above the sea level. The main source is constituted of several small springs which melt into a bigger stream down the slope. The reserve is the area of two, very unique endemits of the project Natura 2000: the first one is Moravian aconite and the second one is Carpathian alpine tocia.
